Gelsdorf was joined by Fernando Carro, chairman of the board at Bayer 04, Thomas Eichin, head of the Performance Centre plus members of the departmental board Linda Schöttler (Bayer 04 Women), Friedhelm Renno (Elders' committee), Dirk Dreher (Veterans team) and Roman Klossek (Youth).
There were no elections this time as the whole departmental board will be in post for at least another two years.
Fernando Carro express the hope that the Werkself will be able to play in front of crowds at the BayArena next season and the also described his expectations of the youth section: "We need more of our home-grown players in our first team squad in the future." The club boss also expressed great praise for the Bayer 04 Women who have "almost reached the Champions League positions" this season. The team under head coach Achim Feifel are currently fifth in the FLYERALARM alarm Women's Bundesliga, level on points with fourth-placed Potsdam.
Thomas Eichin then explained his most important targets as head of the Performance Centre. The 54-year-old said he wanted to "improve all areas under my responsibility. On the one hand, that is the Kurtekotten Performance Centre/BayArena with all the youth teams and coaches, and on the other the Coaching Academy and Women's team attached to the Performance Centre." The aim is to get the Women to where the Werkself have long been: the top third of the table. The team is very well organised, has a great squad, the coaching staff are working hard. "It's no coincidence the team are where they are in the table moment," said Eichin.
In the youth section, the individual development of the players comes first. A lot of work has been done in this area during the coronavirus pandemic. That includes individual coaching for all youth teams. "Our motto is not to talk too much about what doesn't work but to implement what is possible," explained Eichin.
The reins have been tightened on the intensity of training as the primary aim is to "get more players through to the first-team squad and that has to be our top target." A common coaching philosophy for all teams and the specified fitness programme are particular focal points in youth development. "The final phase of development must be extremely strong for the U19s in particular. That's why our focus will be on providing appropriate training for the players. We will continue to try to maintain the flow from our basic teams from the U8 to the U12 sides through to the to the competitive level with the U17s and U19s. The rate of flow is currently at over 40%. That is a top level in Germany. But we have to see that this 40% have enough quality so that they can establish themselves in professional football."
No less important is the development of the coaches. "I'm happy we've been able to bring in an expert as Head of Coaching in Keld Bordinggaard and he will be able to bring us up to a higher level," said Eichin. "We are on track overall."
Linda Schöttler, general manager of the Bayer 04 Women, highlighted the fact that the Women players are on course to their best finish in the season since the start of Women's football at Leverkusen in 2008. "And looking forward to next season, we want to maintain that success and we would also be very happy to go through to the cup final."
Dirk Dreher, general manager of the Veterans team, who have hardly played in recent months due to the coronavirus pandemic, have used the time to bring in new players. In future that will include Bayer 04 honorary captain Stefan Kießling plus former Werkself players Hanno Balitsch and Jörg Reeb turning out for the Veterans. There are already requests in the pipeline for next season's indoor tournaments in Regensburg, Berlin and Oldenburg. The Veterans will also be happy to play charity matches again when the situation permits.
As usual during the members meetings', members who passed away over the last year were remembered. And, of course, Jürgen Gelsdorf again thanked a large number of members for their long-term commitment to the club including Bayer 04 assistant coach Peter Hermann who has been a member of the football department at TSV Bayer 04 for 25 years. Matthias Valentin, Norbert Zuschke, Karl-Ernst Helmus, Dr. Horst Bach and Achim Steffens have also been members for that length of time.
Brunhilde Link was celebrated for 40 years of membership. And the following can look back at 50 years: Ludwig Elbern, Matthias Haug, Wolfgang Kwiotek and Joachim Schulz. Harry Gniech, member of the Bundesliga promotion team of 1979, has been associated with the club for 60 years. And 70 years of membership was honoured for another Leverkusen stalwart: Günter Haarmann, who made 511 appearances for Leverkusen between 1958 and 1970 and was a member of the team in 1968 that just missed out on the qualifying round for the Bundesliga against Kickers Offenbach.
The face-to-face celebration of the achievements of the members will be held by the football department at a later date.
A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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On Monday evening, 8 June, around 250 people came to the Bürgerhaus Baumberg at the invitation of Bayer 04 to find out details of the new plans for the campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße at an information event. More compact, greener and with many advantages for Monheim am Rhein - those are the aims. There were lively discussions for around three hours and some misunderstandings were cleared up.
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Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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When Malik Tillman arrived at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from PSV Eindhoven last summer, he did more than just add attacking midfield strength to the team — he reconnected the club with a unique and understated American lineage that stretches back more than three decades.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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