This year the AGM also covered new elections for the board of the football section following the end of the three-year period of office. Meinolf Sprink, director of fans and community affairs was in charge of the vote.
There were no changes as a result of the vote and the section board for the next three years is made up as follows: Linda Schöttler (Women), Dirk Dreher (Veterans team/Council of elders), Roman Klossek (Youth) and Jürgen Gelsdorf as chair of the football section. Only the former Bayer 04 captain and coach Friedhelm Renno, who passed away at the start of the year, is no longer on the section board.
Following the welcome address from Jürgen Gelsdorf, Bayer 04 members who have passed away over the last 12 months were remembered. That was followed by tributes to members of TSV Bayer 04 with 25 years and more membership. Honoured for 25 years of Bayer 04 membership: Jörg Bittner, Helmut Heinz, Peter Küker, Heinz Pier, Dr. Josef Schmitt and Egon Urbach.
Gerd Kentschke and Edward Mattuszewski can look back at 50 years of membership. Hans-Peter Schmidt has clocked up 60 years of membership. But that's not all: Willi Kühl and Heinz-Dieter Nelles have been loyal to the Werkself for 70 years.
The eleven long-serving members were presented with a Bayer 04 shirt with their name on as a thank you for their years of loyalty. In addition, all the long-serving members of the past four years will receive an invite to the Barmenia Lounge for the Bundesliga home game against RB Leipzig (Sunday 23 April, 17.30 CET).
Following the presentations, Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO and sporting managing director Simon Rolfes reported on the situation with the first team. Thomas Eichin (head of the Performance Centre) also addressed the meeting on the Women's and Youth section, Dirk Dreher informed the meeting about the Veterans team.
There were no motions for the AGM.
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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