
Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr and Furkan ‘FURKY’ Kayacik will again be on the search for virtual goals for the Black and Reds. The duo are joined this season by the new Bayer 04 eSports talent Mario ‘BULJI’ Lovrinovic. The trio are in action in the opening clash against the Hamburg SV console pros from 18.00 CET. The Red Shorts finished second in the North West division last season.
This year's VBL campaign will be played exclusively on PlayStation 5 and the format and assessment of the matchdays have also changed: Every meeting will again involve up to three individual players and be played in a best-of-three format. However, individual matches will no longer be awarded points. The club winning after two or three individual games receive three points in the division table with the losing club collecting no points. In the event of a draw after three individual games both clubs will receive one point.
As with last season, the matchday evening in the VBL CC will consist of a double matchday this term. The games against HSV will be followed by the next meeting from 19.30 CET: The Leverkusen eSports players then play Holstein Kiel on matchday two. The Storks ended last season bottom of the table.

Ten years after retiring as a player, Kristina Sundov is returning to the Bayer 04 Women’s team as assistant coach. The 39-year-old former Croatia international takes over from Remzi Kahraman, who has taken up a new challenge abroad. She has been given a contract to 30 June 2028.
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The training pitches at the BayArena are already buzzing with activity again, even before training officially begins next week. On Monday morning, a small group from the Werkself first-team squad completed a session lasting around an hour. Both new and familiar faces were present.
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One ticket, two matches – and a varied programme of events, including appearances by players from the professional teams: Bayer 04 has come up with something very special for the 2026 season launch on Saturday, 8 August. From morning right through to the evening, Werkself fans can use just one ticket to not only enjoy top-class football from the Bayer 04 teams live, but also to experience unforgettable moments with the whole family through a variety of hands-on activities around the BayArena and the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The day will also end on a real high note: after both matches, Bayer 04 supporters will have the opportunity to interact directly with the players during joint activities and get to know them from a different angle.
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Issa Traoré is moving from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Slovakian top-flight side AS Trencin. The club has loaned the centre-back out for one year to this year’s ninth-placed team in the Slovakian league.
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