“As a child of the Bundesliga, I find it incredible that our football is now in serious existential difficulty,” said Rudi Völler, sporting managing director at Bayer 04. “I started playing in the second division, had a great time back then and I know and value both leagues – they are precious and we have to come together to protect them. With all the rivalry between the clubs, it’s important now for us to help each other.”
Fernando Carro, chairman of the board: “The survival of several clubs is under threat. We feel compelled to make a contribution to the club community. At the end of the day, everybody involved shares an interest in maintaining the stability of the league structures. Only then can the Bundesliga and second division be in a position to guarantee the charisma and attraction in the future that we’ve all benefited from in the past.”
Bayer 04 and the other three participants in the current Champions League campaign have initially decided not to take up their share of as yet undistributed national DFL media income for the coming season. This sum, that currently amounts to 12.5 million euros for the current distribution fund, is topped up by the four clubs in the sum of 7.5 million euros from their own funds. The criteria for distributing the 20 million euros will be set by the DFL management committee.
“This initiative underlines the fact that solidarity in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 is not lip service. The DFL management committee is very grateful to the four Champions League participants on behalf of the community of all clubs,” explained Christian Seifert, spokesperson for the DFL management committee.
Rudi Völler added: “We all bear responsibility for the Bundesliga to continue as before. Not just from self-interest as professional football in Germany is not just a business and also not just an important factor as an employer and tax payer in this country. Football brings people together and is particularly valuable in difficult times as social support.”
Video game producer Electronic Arts (EA) has announced the nominees for the Men's and Women's Team of the Year (TOTY) for EA Sports FC 26. With Patrik Schick and Alejandro Grimaldo for the men and Vanessa Fudalla for the women, there are three Bayer 04 players included. Fans of the Black-and-Reds can vote for each top XI of 2025 from now until 18:59 CET on Monday 12 January.
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The Werkself host Mainz at the BayArena on matchday 24 in the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The match is on Saturday, 28 February, at 15:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
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The long-standing successful collaboration between Bayer 04 and the transport service provider wupsi GmbH has been expanded: From January 2026, 100 wupsi bikes with Bayer 04 branding will be available for hire throughout the city of Leverkusen. They will complement the many existing offers and services that provide key support, especially for fans travelling to and from home matches at the BayArena.
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The Werkself are back! Following the two-week winter break, head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team began the new year with an open session on Sunday. After Robert Andrich and his teammates arrived in Leverkusen yesterday for the official check-in, they got back down to business a day later in front of around 1,200 fans at the Ulrich Haberland Stadion. The report from the Werkself's first session of 2026.
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