
In her future position, Homburg, as with press officer Dirk Mesch, will report directly to Holger Tromp, communications director at Bayer 04.
Holger Tromp: "The challenges in professional communications in and around the Bundesliga have grown immensely in recent years and have also become more complex. For a Bundesliga club, the heart of the matter is still sport but beyond that there are increasingly other tasks including in the community. We have recognised this development by bringing in Valeska Homburg. We are very happy she has accepted and we are certain she will have a vitalising effect on Bayer 04 with her expertise and charisma."
Valeska Homburg: "I'm very grateful looking back at 20 years at ARD and I'm full of anticipation for the new challenge at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from the summer. It will be a new and very interesting job with demands and opportunities at a very professionally run club that has shown great confidence in me."
Valeska Homburg CV:
Valeska Homburg is an experienced sports journalist who has mainly worked for ARD for 20 years. She has an outstanding media network and has gained experience as a journalist including at large-scale events like World Cup tournaments as well as Summer and Winter Olympic games. She presented Bundesliga matches for two years for the former broadcaster Liga Total!. She has experience in media and communication training, speaks fluent English and has been actively involved in social issues for many years. She studied sports science at the German Sports University in Cologne.

The situation ahead of the showdown is clear - and promising. The Bayer 04 U19s host Newcastle United on the sixth and final matchday of the 2025/26 UEFA Youth League phase. A win at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium would see the Werkself go through to the knockout stages of the competition for the first time. Ahead of the clash on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 14:00 CET/livestream on bayer04.de and in the Bayer 04 app), coach Kevin Brok spoke about the successful build-up, his assessment of the match and the danger of underestimating the already eliminated English side.
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The Werkself will host VfB Stuttgart at the BayArena on matchday 16 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The game is on Saturday, 10 January, at 18:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
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The Werkself will host Werder Bremen at the BayArena on matchday 19 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The game is on Saturday, 24 January, at 15:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
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In the sixth and final match of the league phase of the UEFA Youth League 2025/26, the Bayer 04 U19s have a great opportunity to advance to the knockout phase of Europe’s most prestigious youth competition for the first time. To achieve that under their own steam, they will need a win against Newcastle United at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 14:00 CET/ free admission). In an interview with bayer04.de, managing director sport Simon Rolfes analyses the team's performances so far and their special situation. And the 43-year-old reveals what he would be happy to do without on the day of the match.
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The next opponents in the 2025/26 DFB Pokal have been announced: Bayer 04 will host Bundesliga rivals FC St. Pauli in the quarter-finals. That was the outcome of the draw held this Sunday evening, 7 December, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund, where long-time Bundesliga player and coach Friedhelm Funkel made the draw. The Werkself will play their quarter-final tie on 3-4 or 10-11 February 2026. The exact dates have yet to be finalised.
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