Only Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have more online supporters in German football. For Holger Tromp, communications director at Bayer 04, this position is confirmation of the route taken: "We've been investing in the digital world for years and are following a clear plan with a focus on growth and building the brand. We are happy that this strategy, with its creative and valuable content, has succeeded and thereby shown constantly increasing numbers and support. It also serves as inspiration to continue to win over our supporters regionally and internationally for the long term."
On 20 August 2010 it was a case of 'Bayer 04 goes Twitter'. That was the start of the Black and Red social media journey. Bayer 04 started the club’s Facebook channel shortly after that and now have over 2.8 million fans on it. Instagram followed in 2014 and we broke the one million mark in the Bundesliga in 2020 and now have 1.8 million followers. The social media landscape for Bayer 04 was completed two years ago with the addition of Snapchat, YouTube, LinkedIn and most recently TikTok.
Above all, Bayer 04 developed a clear digital strategy internationally early on and has now been communicating to specific target groups for years in four languages – German, English, Spanish and Chinese (Sina Weibo, Douyin, WeChat). The Werkself English-language Twitter channel now has almost 400,000 subscribers and counts amongst the most quoted in international football online. The creative and bold content plus strong community management has seen Leverkusen develop a USP in North America.
Across all platforms and channels, Bayer 04 now has a billion digital contacts per year. 40,000 items are produced each year in the newsroom in Leverkusen and through international partners – including high-end productions like the TV documentary on Kai Havertz (now up to 2.3 million viewers on YouTube). Viral highlights including the flag quiz with Lukas Hradecky or short videos of players like Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Bayer 04 Legends have now been seen millions of times. In addition, Bayer 04 regularly creates and posts content on social media channels with almost all partners and sponsors.
The Bayer 04 social media channels including followers:
- Facebook: 2.84 million (since 2010)
- Instagram: 1.86 million (since 2014)
- Sina Weibo: 1.71 million (since 2018)
- TikTok: 685,000 (since 2020)
- Twitter DE: 429,000 (since 2010)
- Twitter EN: 398,000 (since 2015)
- Twitter ES: 145,000 (since 2015)
- Douyin: 77,000 (since 2020)
- YouTube: 57,000 (since 2018)
- Snapchat: 63,000 (since 2016)
- WeChat: 50,000 (since 2018)
- LinkedIn: 7,500 (since 2020)
“Year after year, this is an incredibly valuable gathering, both in terms of the content covered and the opportunity for mutual discussion,” stressed Bayer 04 goalkeeping coach David Thiel in his welcoming address at this year’s goalkeeping coaches’ meeting. This was the third time in four seasons that the event had been held at the BayArena. Organised by the German Football Association (DFB), the meeting brought together goalkeeping coaches from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and the 3rd division from the west region. For the first time this year, goalkeeping coaches from the youth performance centres (NLZ) were also present. Bayer 04 fitness coach Markus Müller provided fascinating insights into the specific fitness training carried out with the Werkself’s goalkeepers.
Show more
It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
Show more
Several Werkself players are set to represent their national teams during the final international break of 2026. Here’s an overview of who has been called up and the matches they will face in November. This article will be updated regularly.
Show more
“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
Show more
Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
Show more
