What makes the season launch special are the games for the Bayer 04 Women’s team against Feyenoord (kick-off: 13:15 CEST, Ulrich Haberland Stadium) and the men’s team against Sevilla (kick-off: 15:30 CEST, BayArena) – and Bayer 04 fans can watch both matches with just one ticket. More than 17,000 fans have already secured their places for this joint season opener.
Alongside the two friendlies, there are plenty of activities on offer, inviting fans to experience the club in a whole host of different ways. The programme gets underway around the BayArena even before the first ball is kicked: the gates on the west side of the BayArena open at 11:30 CEST. The Legends’ Brunch, the stamp hunt with the Werkself Pass and the exhibition match featuring the Inclusion Werkself will kick off the day.
At the Legends’ Brunch, former Bayer 04 players and the managing director sport Simon Rolfes will welcome guests to the Bayer 04 beer garden. Among those attending will be Karim Bellarabi, Paulo Sergio, Falko Götz and Rüdiger Vollborn – representing many other familiar faces from the club’s history. As a Bayer 04 partner, the Merzenich Bakery is supporting the brunch by providing free fresh bread rolls.
At the same time, the area around the BayArena is transformed into a world of varied experiences for the whole family. If you want to discover as much as possible and stand a chance of winning a prize – including a match-worn shirt or Stammtisch tickets (VIP-Light) – you should grab your Werkself Pass (further information HERE). Modelled on a passport, it takes Bayer 04 fans on a stamp hunt and a voyage of discovery across the entire event site.
At 13:00 CET, the Bayer 04 Women’s team will be officially presented at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, together with Fernando Carro, the Bayer 04 CEO. The friendly against Feyenoord will kick off at 13:15 CEST.
The BayArena will open in full from 1.30 pm. The Werkself are due to arrive at the stadium at around 14:00 CEST. During half-time of the Bayer 04 Women’s friendly, the team will then, as a one-off, enter the BayArena via the Ulrich Haberland Stadium – a gesture intended to highlight the shared nature of the season launch for both teams.
All the Werkself players will be officially presented at 15:20. The second friendly of the day against Sevilla kicks off at 15:30 CEST.
Shortly after the final whistle, stadium announcer Pitti Dahl welcomed a number of players, as well as head coach Carles Martínez for a brief chat in front of Stand F1.
Next up: out of the changing rooms and into the action. Players will mingle with the fans simultaneously at a total of eight different experience zones:
From the first encounters at the Legends’ Brunch right through to the meet-and-greet with the professionals after the final whistle, the season opener is all about kicking off the season together. So if you’d like to experience the Werkself and the Bayer 04 women’s team up close, you can still secure tickets now:
Further information on the day’s programme, activity areas and the timetable can be found HERE
The Werkself continue their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with their third friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Wednesday 29 July (kick-off 15:00 CEST). Werkself-TV is broadcasting the match live and in full in a stream from 14:50 CEST...
After the children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy grilled Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch last week, another group of 20 young Werkself fans gathered at the BayArena press conference room on Tuesday afternoon, 28 July . This time, the kids directed their questions at Tim Oermann and Jonah Berghoff. Defender Oermann raved about his school days, whilst talented midfielder Berghoff revealed to the young footballers, amongst other things, who his favourite player is – and he is also at Bayer 04. To round things off, the pair naturally obliged with all requests for autographs and selfies.
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Bayer 04 are back on the pitch. Following the first training sessions, the Werkself play the first pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 18. The match against Oberliga club Sportfreunde Baumberg kicks off at 15:30 CEST in Monheim am Rhein. Fans unable to attend the match can watch head coach Carles Martínez’s first game in charge for free via a livestream at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app, as well as on Werkself.tv (exclusively for members). Just log on and watch the games live. All the other Werkself preseason friendlies leading up to the 2026/27 season will also be streamed live for free.
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Bayer 04 is redesigning the public catering at the BayArena and Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion for the start of the 2026/27 season. Together with new catering partner Aramark, processes will be developed and the service at the stadium will be improved in a targeted way.
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Have you always wanted to test your skills against the Werkself players? At the 2026 season launch on Saturday 8 August, as a Bayer 04 Club member, you have the chance to make that dream come true! Apply now, up to and including Sunday 2 August, and secure your place to take on Bundesliga players in a wide variety of challenges on the pitch at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The selected Club members will also each receive two tickets for the season launch.
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