That means this weekend’s matches could have been played. But the German Football Association (DFB) has reacted to the political decisions by postponing the forthcoming Bundesliga matchday for U19 and U17 sides.
Like the DFB, the West German Football Association (WDFV) has also cancelled the matchday for junior competitions at the weekend. For Bayer 04, this decision affects the U15s (U15 Regional League West) plus the U14, U13, U12 teams who are all due to play in the youth cups in their respective age groups. The U14 and U13 sides go into the enforced break as league leaders.
While the U12 to U19 postponements are due to decisions at association level, Bayer 04 have cancelled the club’s own U8 to U11 fixtures after internal discussions. That means all the youth teams at Bayer 04 now go into a four-week break in football.
In times of increasing infection rates and contact bans there is a need – as in the lockdown earlier in the year – for alternative training in the form of individual sessions. The youth section at Bayer 04 is already looking at possible options.
“We want to continue to support and develop the lads despite the absence of full training sessions. Of course, health comes first. We are working all the time to provide options for the youth players that take account of the development of the pandemic and at the same time ensure we are able to live up to our role as providers of education and development,” explained Thomas Eichin, the head of the Bayer 04 Performance Centre. “We also always see every change as a chance to focus in the immediate future on aspects that perhaps do not get the same attention in ‘normal’ day-to-day training.”
Bayer 04 midfielder Ibrahim Maza was honoured in Paris in the Best Algerian Young Player category at the Fennec d'Or awards for the Algerian Footballer of the Year, organised for the first time by the football journal La Gazette du Fennec. "It's an honour for me," said the 19-year-old, delighted with the award.
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On the back of two wins within four days, Bayer 04 Women round off an intensive Bundesliga week in the Black Forest. Roberto Pätzold's side have the chance to move back up to third place against SC Freiburg in the final fixture of Matchday 10 on Monday (18:00 CET) and draw level on points with second-placed VfL Wolfsburg.
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The last international break of this calendar year features the final qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. An overview of who's playing where and when from a Leverkusen point of view.
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Never before have Bayer 04 led 4-0 so early in the Bundesliga, never before have they won a Bundesliga home match by a higher margin. Leverkusen's exhibition display against 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 produced many stories, records and debuts. While Kasper Hjulmand's side celebrated the rousing performance properly with the fans, Jonas Hofmann and Co aren't losing focus: "We have to be careful that we don't just praise ourselves. The games come thick and fast again after the international break." The Werkself Review has all the reaction and analysis of the 6-0 victory at the BayArena.
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