
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.

A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Bayer 04 U19s have extended their winning run with a fifth consecutive victory on Matchday 5 of the DFB Youth League’s preliminary round. Coach Patrick Greveraars’ side secured a 3–2 (2–1) win in their match against second-placed FC Viktoria Köln, with Burak Kir and Nebe Domnic scoring for the hosts in the first half before captain Ben Hawighorst found the net after the break.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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European football returns to the BayArena: Bayer 04 host Slovenian champions NK Celje on matchday 1 in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. Ahead of the match on Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez and midfielder Aleix Garcia spoke at the pre-match press conference. The focus was primarily on the great anticipation surrounding the competition and the clear objectives for it – and, given the circumstances, on a last-minute change to the opposition line-up.
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