The Werkself are one of 48 teams qualified for the 48th season of this European club competition. Bayer 04 qualified by finishing fifth in the Bundesliga last season thus avoiding the play-offs that 31 clubs have been involved in over recent weeks – the final qualifiers will be played on Thursday.
In accordance with club coefficients, the 48 clubs will be divided into four pots. There will be 12 teams in each of the four pots. The 12 groups will consist of a team drawn from each of the pots. Bayer 04 will be in the first pot along with Arsenal, Chelsea and Villareal. Clubs from the same association (from Germany they are the cup winners Eintracht Frankfurt and possibly RB Leipzig) cannot meet at the group stage. The Werkself will be represented at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on Friday by Fernando Carro (chairman of the board), Lennart Coerdt (assistant director sport) and Simon Pallmann (operational business section).
DAZN hold the rights to all 205 Europa League games from the current season to 2021 and the streaming service will broadcast the draw on Friday live from 13.00 CET. In addition, the two TV broadcasters RTL and RTL Nitro will broadcast 15 games on free TV. On each matchday, the TV contract with the RTL media group guarantees one exclusive live broadcast plus highlights from all the other games.
Matchday 1: 20 September
Matchday 2: 4 October
Matchday 3: 25 October
Matchday 4: 8 November
Matchday 5: 29 November
Matchday 6: 13 December
The Golden Boy Top 100 traditionally lists Europe’s most promising young players. In the latest update, published to mark the start of the new season, four current Werkself players – alongside loanee Francis Onyeka – feature on the list. This means Bayer 04 have the most players in contention of any Bundesliga club.
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Goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe will continue to play for Bayer 04 Leverkusen next season. The loan of the Germany U23 international, who joined from Liverpool in the winter, has been extended by a further year.
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The Bayer 04 delegation, led by Fernando Carro, CEO, concluded their multi-day trip to Brazil with a visit to the community-based organisation Bola Pra Frente in Rio de Janeiro – founded by former Werkself player Jorginho. During the visit, Bayer 04 committed to extending support for the Bola Pra Frente project for a further five years. In addition, Jorginho, a member of the Brazil 1994 World Cup-winning squad, was named Bayer 04’s second official club legend. With the visit to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the club has strengthened the relationships built up over the years in one of Bayer 04’s most important international markets.
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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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