Bayer 04 honorary captain Stefan Kießling was one of 14 candidates to receive a certificate on Tuesday evening for the successful completion of the 'Management in professional football' course. The 38-year-old was part of the first year of the programme started by the German Football League (DFL) and the German Football Association (DFB) two years ago.
"The course was very interesting and lively from the first day because it covered the broadest range of areas and subjects. The focus was not just on the transmission of knowledge but also the intensive exchange of information with each other," said Kießling who moved into the sporting management at the Werkself after ending his playing career in 2018 and today he is responsible for coordinating the senior squad.
The Bayer 04 honorary captain was on the course alongside former players including Marcel Schäfer, Christian Gentner, Thomas Kessler and Sascha Riether. The second year of the programme started in October 2021.
The executive committee of the European Football Union (UEFA) has approved the reform of European club competitions from the 2024/25 season. UEFA has come to an accommodation with the critics of the reform of the Champions League decided in April.
The new format of the Champions League, which Bayer 04 CEO Fernando Carro worked on as a board member of the ECA, envisages an increase of 32 to 36 participants with the competition played according to the so-called 'Swiss model'. However, the original idea of two of the four additional places being allocated according to a five-year ranking of the club's was rejected. In a compromise, these two additional places will go to the countries whose teams perform best in the previous European competition season. In addition, the number of qualifying games will not increase from six to ten but instead to eight.
Werkself defender Jonathan Tah enabled a large number of children to enjoy a very special experience last weekend: The 26-year-old, who has been an ambassador for the DFB Egidius Braun Foundation for three years, invited a group of children from the KITZ Hopp Children's Cancer Centre in Heidelberg to the PreZero Arena. The children were able to watch the Werkself win 4-2 at the TSG Hoffenheim stadium and enjoy the ensuing celebrations of qualifications for the Champions League. .
"It's always great to bring joy to children. This time there was the opportunity as the game was played close to Heidelberg," said Tah, who has supported the partnership between the DFB Foundation and the KITZ Hopp Children's Cancer Centre in Heidelberg since 2019 as part of the 'Children's dreams' campaign. "We will definitely do the whole thing again in the future."
The crowning moment of an impressive season was absent in the end. The Bayer Giants Leverkusen, recently hit hard by numerous injuries, lost out in the promotion race for the basketball Bundesliga on Tuesday night. In game three of the semi-finals they suffered a 74 to 62 defeat against Tigers Tübingen at the Ostermann Arena. As the previous two away games in Baden-Württemberg were lost the third defeat in the best-of-five format now ensures the Giants remain in second division of the basketball Bundesliga.
Bayer 04 host 1. FC Köln at the BayArena in the final home game of 2025 . Today’s match on Saturday, 13 December kicks off at 18:30.30 pm. The Werkself are looking for three points against 1. FC Köln, who are without a win in four games but they do have a shooting star in their ranks up front. The Bayer 04 Volunteering Award will be presented at the derby against the club from Cologne and another fan club will be honoured for many years of loyalty under the Cross. The matchday news.
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The German Football Association (DFB) has officially recognised Bayer 04 as a women’s talent support centre. As announced by the DFB, 1 FC Köln, Union Berlin, RB Leipzig and Hamburger SV are also certified as performance or talent support centres from 1 January 2026 in addition to the Werkself.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 0-1 loss at Werder Bremen on the 13th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Bayer 04 Women suffered a setback at the halfway point of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga. In a battle of the chasing pack between the teams in third and fourth, coach Roberto Pätzold's side lost 1-0 at SV Werder Bremen in a physical contest. The result leaves the Werkself on 22 points after 13 matchdays and now four points behind Bremen.
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The Bayer 04 U19s will face Villarreal CF in Spain in the 2025/26 UEFA Youth League round of 16. That was the result of the draw made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday afternoon.
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