The circumstances around the award of the World Cup to Qatar in 2010 were scandalous. The award criteria have to be significantly more transparent in the future. Qatar came out on top in the fourth round of voting in 2010 although it was the least suitable of all applications for hosting a World Cup according to FIFA's own audit reports. Out of eight new World Cup stadiums, seven were new-build projects. Football culture does not exist in Qatar. From our perspective, that is a knockout criterion for a potential World Cup host. And for that reason we believe the World Cup should never have been awarded to Qatar.
Extreme political attitudes of a host country, homophobia, the denial of freedom of expression and women's rights plus unacceptable working conditions in the country staging a World Cup are completely contrary to the basic values we stand for at this club. In this respect, Bayer 04 supports the DFB in their endeavours and in their emphatic commitment to achieve transparency and to our free and democratic value system.
Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO, is a member of the board of the European Club Association (ECA). He will visit Qatar in December for a board meeting and a range of other discussions. The Spaniard takes the following position: "Questions ignored in the award of this tournament twelve years ago on the human rights situation, on equality and the freedom of expression in the host country will justifiably accompany this World Cup. We now need to work towards making the award criteria for a World Cup significantly more transparent in the future. I will campaign for that in the name of Bayer 04."
As a club, we also look at this World Cup from the perspective of our players. They have worked for years for their sporting objectives and this World Cup could be the high point of the football careers of some of them. In our opinion, we believe it would be wrong not to report on this. Therefore, we will report on our international players at the World Cup and their sporting achievements and follow their appearances on the World Cup stage. We believe the players cannot be made responsible for the award of the competition to Qatar twelve years ago. Accordingly, they have our respect, our support and editorial backing.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico is underway. A total of eight Leverkusen players are taking part in the 23rd World Cup, with 48 teams in the tournament for the first time. Bayer04.de brings you all the latest from Werkself players at the World Cup.
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Following the summer break of around two months, the Bayer 04 first team squad took to the training pitches at the BayArena for the first time on Tuesday – and the players were in high spirits. Alongside the newly formed coaching team led by head coach Carles Martínez, new signing Afonso Moreira also completed his first session with the squad. In front of several hundred Bayer 04 fans at the open session, numerous Werkself players worked up a good sweat. The Leverkusen players who took part in the World Cup will join pre-season training at a later date.
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In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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Black and Red talent development at the highest level – even off the pitch: Apprentices Jule Suermann, Leandra Bellia and Julia Niederheide have successfully completed their two- or three-year apprenticeships at the club. Bayer 04 honoured the trio at the BayArena on Tuesday.
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