
It is now established during the current campaign: Whenever there is an international break, the Werkself take the opportunity to play a friendly at the Haberland Stadium – and viewers of bayer04.de and Facebook can follow the match live at home on the PC or on smartphones. That will happen again in two weeks time: The Werkself entertain second division VfL Bochum in the shadows of the Bay Arena on Thursday 22 March. The game at the Haberland Stadium kicks off at 15.00 CET and entrance is free of charge.
The match takes place in the week after the derby at FC Köln (18 March) and ahead of the home game against FC Augsburg (31 March). The international players will be away with their respective national sides and the rest of the squad will take part in a practice match against a club from a lower league – which always provides head coach Heiko Herrlich the chance to give players time on the pitch who don't regularly play in competitive fixtures. The meeting with Bochum will be the second time the Black and Reds have faced the Blue and Whites this term: Bayer 04 played VfL in the first international break of the 2017/18 season on 31 August last year – with Bochum coming out on top in a 2-1 win with goals from Lukas Hinterseer and Johannes Wurtz. Marlon Frey scored the goal for the Werkself.
This will be the eighth friendly of the season for Bayer 04 at the Haberland Stadium following on from games against Bochum, Fortuna Köln, MSV Duisburg, SpVgg Greuther Fürth, Preußen Münster, SF Lotte and Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. The duel with VfL also brings a reunion with Robin Dutt: The former Werkself coach (2011 to April 2012) recently took over the helm at Bochum and he has been brought in ensure that VfL win the battle to avoid relegation and stay in the second division.

The Werkself continue their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with their third friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Wednesday 29 July (kick-off 15:00 CEST). Werkself-TV is broadcasting the match live and in full in a stream from 14:50 CEST...

Bayer 04 are back on the pitch. Following the first training sessions, the Werkself play the first pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 18. The match against Oberliga club Sportfreunde Baumberg kicks off at 15:30 CEST in Monheim am Rhein. Fans unable to attend the match can watch head coach Carles Martínez’s first game in charge for free via a livestream at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app, as well as on Werkself.tv (exclusively for members). Just log on and watch the games live. All the other Werkself preseason friendlies leading up to the 2026/27 season will also be streamed live for free.
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Bayer 04 is redesigning the public catering at the BayArena and Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion for the start of the 2026/27 season. Together with new catering partner Aramark, processes will be developed and the service at the stadium will be improved in a targeted way.
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The German Football Association (DFB) has officially recognised Bayer 04 as a centre for the development of female talent for the 2026/27 season. The club was awarded that role on 1 January 2026, and this status has now been renewed.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have sold young defender Andrea Natali to AZ Alkmaar on permanent terms. The 18-year-old Italian was on loan at the Dutch club last season, where he mainly played for the reserve team in the second division.
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