The first matchday at the BayArena for the Bayer Sports Family impressively demonstrated: Football, basketball, handball, volleyball, athletics and all other sports under the Bayer Cross are closely connected with each other.
During half-time in the Bundesliga match, Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO, together with Klaus Beck (Chairman of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen) and Dr. Michael Preuss (Head of communications at Bayer AG) from the shareholders committee at Bayer 04 honoured the athletes of TSV Bayer 04 who had been successful this summer. Appreciation was shown to Konstanze Klosterhalfen, Lea Meyer, Jennifer Montag, Marco Brinkmann, Alexandra Ehler, Alexandra Ndolo, Taliso Engel, Maurice Wetekam, Irmgard Bensusan, Johannes Floors, Nele Moos, Markus Rehm and Léon Schäfer.
The Bayer Sports Family had a varied programme of events on and off the pitch ahead of the Bundesliga fixture. When the stadium opened two hours before kick-off, Bayer 04 fans on the concourse were able to get involved interactively with the different types of sports at TSV. The Black and Red supporters tried out judo, fistball and hula hoops. In addition, the mascots Brian the Lion (Bayer 04) and Paule (TSV Bayer 04) were out and about happy to pose for photos with adults and youngsters alike.
The Bayer sports clubs provided all the player escorts, banner and flagbearers on the home matchday against Darmstadt. The young athletes wore their own club kits representing a large number of different sports at TSV including boxing, fencing, judo, athletics, parasports. The main and shirt sponsor Barmenia went without the addition of the Barmenia name for this unique event for many TSV youth athletes. Many thanks for this generous gesture.
Ahead of the match, stadium announcer Pitti Dahl and her colleague Tobias Ufer interviewed the captains of the Werkselfen (handball) and Bayer Giants (basketball). To loud applause from the Werkself fans in the stands, the Giants, led by the long term Leverkusen basketball player and captain Dennis Heinzmann, stepped onto the pitch. Shortly after that they were followed by the Werkselfen led by captain Mareike Thomaier.
The BayerVolleys, currently preparing for the new season at a training camp in Cyprus, sent a video message from the Mediterranean to keep the flag flying for the Bayer Sports Family.
The Bayer Sports Family:
As part of the Bayer Sports Family, Bayer 04 are moving closer together to the Bayer sports clubs and Bayer AG. This historic connection is being revived with joint events like the Bayer Sports Family matchday and the Bayer Sports Family week.
Bayer 04 will provide updates on the different team and individual sports, for example with important competitions and events. And the athletes from the Giants, Werkselfen, Volleys and Co. will regularly be integrated into our reporting: From the Werkself Magazin via Werkself TV and the Bayer 04 app through to the social media channels with over ten million followers. The highlight is the content format Bayer Sports Family duel where Bayer 04 first team players compete against TSV Bayer athletes in their disciplines.
In addition, the Fußball GmbH, Bayer sports clubs and Bayer AG have plans for the future to further strengthen the partnership.
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
Show moreTo all Bayer 04 fans: The Fanwelt will be closed all day next Monday 30 June. This is due to preparations for the change of kit supplier from Castore to New Balance on Tuesday 1 July.
Show moreThe Norway U23 international Julie Jorde has completed the move from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Brøndby IF. The twelve-time champions of Denmark have signed the midfielder on permanent terms after her loan move from the Bundesliga to Denmark in the winter.
Show moreIt is almost two years since Bayer 04 new signing Abdoulaye Faye first stepped foot into the BayArena as a player for the Swedish club BK Häcken in the opening match in the 2023/24 Europa League campaign. A day before his nineteenth birthday, the central defender did not play in the 4-0 win for the Werkself but it was "an incredible night" for him on 21 September 2023 as he explained in his first interview on bayer04.de. "I watched the players and saw the fans. I liked it." It was also the first European night early on in his career. He only joined the then champions of Sweden in the cold north of Europe from his home in Senegal a few weeks before that special moment. Bayer04.de profiles our new defender.
Show moreWelcome, Abdoulaye Faye. The 20-year-old Senegalese central defender joins Leverkusen from top-flight Swedish club BK Häcken. In his first interview he talks about his move to Bayer 04 and his targets with the Werkself.
Show more