Emotional preview of ‘Fierté Burkinabè’ - Tapsoba's parents and close companions from Burkina Faso also at the BayArena

Family and friends from Burkina Faso, Bayer 04 managing directors Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes, Kasper Hjulmand and the coaching staff as well as many of Tapsoba's team-mates from the first team: they all came to the BayArena on Tuesday evening to watch this touching documentary together for the first time at the preview. "It means everything to me that they all came. Without them, especially my parents, I wouldn't be where I am today," declared a grateful Tapsoba. "I've been at Bayer 04 for more than six years now - and I now see myself as German. (laughs) The club has long been part of my family!"

A visibly moved Carro said afterwards: "I had tears in my eyes, it was very emotional for me. You've been with us for six and a half years, we've experienced and achieved a lot together. You can be very proud of yourself and your family." Rolfes, for his part, provided a nice anecdote from the early days together: "I still remember the first day exactly. There were problems with the plane, so Eddy couldn't fly until the next morning. Due to this delay, he is still the only player to have signed his contract with us during the medical at the hospital - and that was 25 minutes before the end of the transfer window. (laughs) From then on, there was a special relationship between him, us and the club. And it was the start of a fantastic journey together and a very successful time."

visit back home with Edmond Tapsoba in Burkina Faso

During the international break at the end of March, a five-person production team from Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba to his native Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. The result is ‘Fiérte Burkinabè’, a story about home, deep pride and the unifying power of football. A documentary that shows the Werkself player in a more private way than anyone has ever seen him or probably any other Bundesliga player. One of the central themes is the important work of his foundation ‘Fondation Edmond Tapsoba’ that gives children and women in particular access to education, nutrition and health.

The documentary produced by the ‘Bayer 04 Media House’ about Edmond Tapsoba, who has played for Bayer 04 for more than six years now and has long been an integral part of the Leverkusen side, will be shown exclusively and free of charge on Wednesday, 29 April at 20:00 CEST on Werkself TV and the Bayer 04 YouTube channel.