The Ulrich Haberland Stadium and Pitch 1 at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre were assessed as the two home venues in the Bundesliga for the Women’s team. The basis for the award is a DFB ground staff tool where representatives of each team and the referees provide their assessment of the quality of the pitch after every league game. The scale ranges from 1 (very poor) to 10 (excellent). Bayer 04 had the best average mark of 8.76. VfL Wolfsburg were second and SGS Essen were third.
“We see the award as confirmation of our work and an incentive to carry on doing all we can to provide the best possible playing surface,” said Georg Schmitz. “When you remember our U17, U19 and Women’s teams were playing home games at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium last season and the Werkself trained there twice a week then the pitch was used a lot – and that demands appropriate care. That makes us even happier to receive such recognition for our work.”
Under the direction of Schmitz, the large number of pitches at Bayer 04 are looked after by a team of 14 permanent members of staff, part-timers and employees. While there is a hybrid playing surface at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium – a durable mixture of grass and synthetic fibres – Pitch 1 at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre has a traditional turf playing surface. The ground staff work on a shift system as there is almost daily use of both venues.
Linda Schöttler, general manager of the Bayer 04 Women, very much values this work: “We can train and play under optimum conditions and the playing surfaces are exemplary at both sites. That’s not always the case in the Women’s Bundesliga. There are big differences at times with regard to the pitch quality at the various venues.”
Bayer 04 won a pitch of the year award for the first time two years ago. In 2017/18, an expert panel from the German Football League (DFL) named the BayArena as the ‘Bundesliga pitch of the year’.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
Show more
In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
Show more
No points to start the league campaign: Bayer 04 lost 3-2 away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg in the first Bundesliga match of the 2026/27 campaign. Two quick-fire goals from Lukas Petkov (8’) and Cole Campbell (10’) gave the hosts an early lead, before David Mokwa scored the Saarland side’s third shortly after half-time (46’). In the closing stages, the Werkself rallied and staged a late comeback with goals from Patrik Schick (77’) and Christian Kofane (90+1’), but the Black and Reds were denied an equaliser.
Show more
The Black and Reds kick off the new Bundesliga campaign today, Saturday 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg – and the Werkself will come up against a familiar face who is currently causing a stir at ‘Elv’. For an affordable and easy journey to the Saarland, the 1,600 travelling fans can still use the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Today’s matchday news..
Show more
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
Show more
