The #Morethanfootball banner will be seen when the teams come on and the LED displays around the pitch will draw attention to the Action Weeks. This year, Werkself player Robert Andrich together with Juliane Wirtz of the Bayer 04 Women’s team are official ambassadors for the campaign: "Football is more than just 90 minutes. I've been impressed by the many projects already running here at Bayer 04 on a wide range of themes – whether that's diversity, sustainability or inclusion. For me that's an essential element these days," said Andrich. "As a football club you have the chance to use your charisma for important community and social issues. It's about responsibility and active tolerance – on and off the pitch. That's what we stand for."
The #Morethanfootball Action Weeks run to 14 April. The Werkself introduced projects on the subjects of social inclusion and awareness a few days ago. In the coming weeks the other areas to be covered include accessibility, sustainability and climate protection plus mental health. And the Bayer 04 Women's team are also dedicating tomorrow's home game against TSG Hoffenheim (kick-off: 16.00 CEST) to the Action Weeks.
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Dr. Matthias Jöllenbeck as the referee for today’s game against Hertha Berlin. The 35-year-old match official has refereed the Werkself once before this season: January's 2-2 draw at home to Union Berlin. His assistant referees are Christof Günsch and Jonas Weickenmeier with Pascal Müller on VAR duty. Have a good game.
Finally there are no crowd restrictions for home games at the BayArena. The capacity at the BayArena of 30,210 is again permitted and standing will return in the home and away ends. The 3G rule does apply in accordance with the Coronavirus Protection Order, there is no obligation to wear a mask in the open air but we do advise wearing a face covering and it is still required indoors. Further information on Home game FAQs.
Ahead of the match against the club from the capital, Black and Red fans can get up-to-date with important matchday information with the help of Werkself LIVE. The programme can be obtained at the BayArena – alternatively it is available free online. This season's Bayer 04 matchday magazine provides interesting stats and facts on the game. On the back of the printed version for #B04BSC there is a poster of Karim Bellarabi. Click HERE for the e-paper.
Anybody unable to attend the game at the BayArena can follow proceedings on the Werkself Radio. There is also up-to-date information on the live text commentary service. Both the radio and text commentary are available at bayer04.de or on the new Bayer 04 app – check-in for the action.
For the home game at the BayArena against Hertha Berlin on Saturday 2 April (kick-off: 15.30 CEST), there will be a large number of closures affecting S-Bahn and motorway traffic due to the work on infrastructure for the Rhein-Ruhr-Express: S-Bahn trains between Cologne and Düsseldorf terminate at the Chempark station. From here there is a replacement bus service to Langenfeld – the same applies in the other direction. All spectators planning to travel by rail are advised by Bayer 04 to take the RB 48 to the Leverkusen-Manfort station. From there there is a 20-minute walk to the BayArena.
From Friday 1 April (22.00 CEST) to Monday 11 April (05.00 CEST), the Willy-Brandt-Ring between Carl-Duisberg-Straße and Edith-Weyde-Straße will be completely closed to road traffic as well as pedestrians and cyclists. The motorway exit from the A3 interchange for Leverkusen city centre is closed. Diversions will be shown for road traffic.
Car drivers wanting to reach the Kurtekotten car park via the A3 should come off the motorway in Köln-Mülheim and head for the car park via the B8 in the direction of Leverkusen (Düsseldorfer Straße). Otto-Bayer-Straße is recommended for satnav use. Car drivers who have parking permits around the BayArena recommended to use the A3 taking the Leverkusen-Opladen exit. From there, the car parks (green and red) will be signposted.
Bayer 04 recommends all fans to arrive early at the game. The BayArena opens two hours before kick-off at 13.30 CEST.
Today's game between the Werkself and Hertha Berlin will be keenly followed by Tayfun Korkut on his 48th birthday given his past employment. The Stuttgart-born coach took over from Roger Schmidt in March 2017 and he coached the Werkself up to the end of the 2016/17 season.
His next job took the Turkish manager back to his home town and VfB Stuttgart and Korkut coached Leverkusen's opponents Hertha Berlin from November last year to two weeks ago. Many happy returns from Bayer 04.
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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The Werkself began 2026 with defeat, losing 4-1 at home to VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 16 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga. Jamie Leweling opened the scoring early, with Maximilian Mittelstädt making it 2-0 from a penalty before Leweling again and Deniz Undav increased the lead to 4-0 just before half-time. Alejandro Grimaldo's penalty reduced the deficit midway through the second period.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen has gained a new partner in digital gaming platform Crown Coins, which joins the Bundesliga runners-up's Sponsors Club with immediate effect. The one-and-a-half-year contract runs until 30 June 2027.
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The Werkself host VfB Stuttgart this evening (10 January, 18:30 CET), a side whose recent Bundesliga form has been indifferent but who have regularly produced top performances in the DFB Pokal and UEFA Europa League, and who have a key player back in the squad in striker Ermedin Demirovic. Off the pitch, the BayArena faithful will be able to see the remaining stoppage time live on the video screens. The Matchday News.
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