
Inclusion, integration plus the promotion of social interaction are just a small selection of themes that are an inherent part of the Bayer 04 DNA. Between 22 March and 18 April, the Werkself will report on the club's own channels how these issues are brought to life in and around the BayArena, the Kurtekotten Performance Centre and the other Bayer 04 venues.
Nina Brüggemann, defender in the Women's Bundesliga team, is an ambassador for the Werkself as part of the #Morethanfootball Action Weeks. The 28-year-old explains: "Football is more than just a sport. It connects people worldwide including off the pitch. For many years, the club Bayer 04 have broadcast important messages on issues such as equality, diversity and sustainability. In the future that has to be carried forward and developed as social responsibility. We are #Morethanfootball.”

Emrehan Gedikli, a member of the first-team squad at Bayer 04, is also an ambassador. The 17-year-old talent says: "For young athletes like me it's important to think about the future alongside work on the pitch. Therefore I'm happy that I am able to continue my vocational training at Bayer 04. I'm learning new things every day – both on and off the pitch. We are #Morethanfootball.”

Lukas Hradecky, Werkself goalkeeper, also talks as a member of the Leverkusen ambassador group: "The love for football made us into professional athletes. Without that passion none of us would be where we are now. We share this passion with millions of football players across the world. A passion that connects us all – on and off the football pitch. We are #Morethanfootball.”

At the Women's team home game against Eintracht Frankfurt (26 March) and the Werkself home game against Schalke 04 (3 April) there will also be a range of messages relating to the #Morethanfootball Action Weeks. A Europe-wide virtual human chain made up of players, fans and club management will be the highlight of this year’s campaigns that Bayer 04 are supporting as an active member of the European Football for Development Network (EFDN).

In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
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This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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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…
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