The rankings and awards were decided according to the Family Experience Score (FES). Customer responses from a Germany-wide survey on eight concrete performance achievements were totted up with 731 companies from 73 areas of business being ranked as family-friendly on a scale of 0 to 100.
Bayer 04 received an FES of 76.3 putting them second in the ranking of German clubs – just behind Borussia Mönchengladbach and ahead of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. All 18 Bundesliga clubs were rated.
“The award is appreciation for the members of staff at Bayer 04,” declared Fernando Carro, the Bayer 04 CEO. “We have always paid close attention to being family-friendly. And that will remain so in the future.”
On the evaluation system:
The Family Experience Score (FES) was developed in association with the Institute for Psychology at the Goethe-University in Frankfurt am Main. To assess the family-friendliness of companies, a representative group of customers, living in households with one or more children, were presented with the following eight statements:
1. The range of products and services is designed for families and children.
2. The staff are friendly to families and children.
3. I feel in good hands there with my child.
4. Additional provision is made for families and children (e.g. range of games).
5. The environment is suitable for families and children.
6. Statements and promises made to families and children are adhered to.
7. Needs of families and children are met.
8. There is value for money for families and children.
The people surveyed rated each statement according to a five-stage scale. The FES was calculated as an average of all the statements with each statement being weighted the same. That produced the rankings with the overall result for the individual companies being represented in index points on a scale of 0 (zero approval) to 100 (complete approval).
Since 2023, Bayer 04 has been organising regular free goalkeeping coach training sessions at the BayArena. As in previous years, the event attracted enormous interest in mid-October 2026. Around 140 participants – mostly goalkeeping coaches from the region, but also team and academy coaches as well as association staff – came to the Werkself stadium to gain expert knowledge on the subject of zonal marking. Through a theoretical keynote presentation and a practical session on the pitch, the participants gained insights into goalkeeping and goalkeeper training at Bayer 04.
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A first for the Werkself: Today, Thursday 15 October (kick-off: 18:45 CEST), Bayer 04 face Lech Poznan for the first time on matchday 2 in the UEFA Europa League group. Although the Black and Reds have a flawless record against the only Polish opposition faced before, they must not underestimate the attacking ability and goal-scoring threat of the reigning champions from Poznan. Lech’s squad also includes two former Bundesliga players. Today's matchday news.
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Some 30 years on since their last European fixture in Poland, Bayer 04 cross the border for Thursday’s UEFA Europa League clash against Lech Poznan on Matchday 2 of the league phase on Thursday (kick-off: 18:45 CEST). Ahead of a first-ever meeting with Lech, head coach Carles Martínez and winger Nathan Tella spoke in Poznan about special memories and objectives.
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The NB Vintage Collection is here and available now! Members enjoy an exclusive priority purchase period (online shop only). Non-members will then be able to purchase items from Saturday 17 October (10:00 CEST). Sales will also begin at the same time at the Bayer 04 Fanwelt.
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