World Prematurity Day on 17 November highlights premature births and their consequences all over the world. "For many years, we have had a partnership with the Klinikum Leverkusen and we want to show our solidarity with the doctors, nurses and parents of the premature babies born at the clinic," said Meinolf Sprink, director of fans/community at Bayer 04.
Even though the chances of survival are good these days due to medical advances, many families continue to be confronted by the challenge of premature birth: Every year in Germany, over 60,000 children are born too early. That means every tenth child is born from the 37th week of pregnancy. These numbers ensure that children born prematurely are the largest patient group amongst children in Germany.
The idea of lighting up buildings across the world (Purple for Preemies) originally came from the American organisation March of Dimes and has grown increasingly popular. In addition to the BayArena in Germany, the castle in Heidelberg and the tower block at the Charité hospital in Berlin are also illuminated in purple.
The Klinikum Leverkusen is the main centre caring for premature births for the hospitals in the city and the surrounding Bergisches Land and with 1,600 births per year is amongst the most experienced maternity hospitals in the region. Last year, a total of 345 premature births were treated at the Klinikum Leverkusen.
Bayer 04 make their second attempt at picking up their first three points of this Bundesliga season as they visit Werder Bremen on Saturday. The hosts may be struggling with injuries and reeling from back-to-back defeats to kick off the campaign, but they’ll want to put that right in their first home outing. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the match, which kicks off at 3.30pm CEST.
Show moreWerder Bremen have started the new season with back-to-back defeats, first being eliminated from the DFB Pokal by Arminia Bielefeld and then losing at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga. And with injuries compounding that form, things are tense ahead of their first home game against the Werkself on Saturday (kick-off: 3.30pm CEST). Here’s the lowdown on Werder.
Show moreBayer 04 play their first away game of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season as they visit Werder Bremen on Saturday (kick-off: 3.30pm CEST). Ahead of the Matchday 2 encounter, head coach Erik ten Hag spoke about the lessons from the opening defeat to Hoffenheim and the clear goal of wanting to win in Bremen.
Show moreBayer 04 new signing Lucas Vázquez has had some eventful days. The experienced right-back faced the media for the first time since arriving in Leverkusen on Tuesday and after completing his first sessions on the training ground. Vázquez talked about his motivation to sign for Leverkusen, his targets with the Werkself, the attraction of German football and about recommendations regarding Bayer 04 from Xabi Alonso, Toni Kroos and Dani Carvajal.
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