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).
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended midfielder Noah Mbamba’s contract by twelve months and sent the Belgian U21 international on loan to France. At FC Lorient, the 21-year-old – whose contract at Leverkusen now runs to 30 June 2029 – is set to gain playing time in Ligue 1 and, through strong performances and further development, put himself in the running for a future place in the Werkself squad.
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Spurred on by a flawless hat-trick from Cornelia Kramer, the Bayer 04 women’s team won their penultimate pre-season friendly in commanding fashion. As part of the season launch, the Werkself beat Dutch top-flight side Feyenoord 7–0. In front of 3,000 spectators at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, Kramer (6’, 25’, 45’), Sofie Zdebel (47’), Maja Sternad (59'), Natasha Kowalski (83') and Vanessa Fudalla (86') scored the goals for coach Roberto Pätzold’s side.
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There’s plenty for Bayer 04 fans to enjoy both on and off the pitch at the official 2026 season launch. In addition to the women’s team taking on Feyenoord at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium at 13:15 CEST and the men’s team facing Sevilla at the BayArena at 15:30 CEST, fans of all ages can enjoy a range of activities – and get to meet Bayer 04 players and former players in the process. The Fanwelt is also offering a special promotion: buy a new shirt and get free printing! Here’s an overview of everything you need to know about the season launch, including the live streams.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day six (Friday 7 August) is as follows: This morning, the squad completed their final training session – this time behind closed doors – here in Blankenhain, before heading back to Leverkusen after lunch. The big season launch is scheduled for tomorrow.
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