
It starts on Saturday at 11.00 CEST with the friendly between the Bayer 04 Women and FSV Gütersloh 2009. Access to the game at the UHS is from 10.30 CEST via the West entrance of the BayArena. Entrance is free for ticket holders for the clash between the Werkself and West Ham United. A ticket office will be open on the day with tickets for the game against the Hammers from England available from €10.
Please note: The fan shop in Leverkusen Wiesdorf is closed all day and the shop at the BayArena will be open during the season launch.
The BayArena will open at 11.30 CEST for the friendly between the Werkself and West Ham United. The best atmosphere and a good mood ahead of the game is provided for: Fans can expect a wide range of activities and games around the stadium. The youngest Bayer 04 fans will be well taken care of: With face painting, shooting cannons or measuring shots on goal there is fun guaranteed for the whole family.
One highlight will be the presentation the Werkself ahead of the game and the Bayer 04 Women during half-time. Members of the Bayer 04 Löwenclub will form a guard of honour for the teams on the pitch and thereby provide a special atmosphere.
Around 30 minutes before kick-off in the game against the Hammers from the Premier League, there will be a crossbar challenge between fans and three players from the Bayer 04 women's team.
Immediately after that there will be an interview on the "stellkrebsvomplatz" campaign to raise awareness of the subject of the early diagnosis of prostate cancer. The stadium announcers Pitti Dahl and Tobias Ufer plus fan liaison officer Andreas ‘Paffi’ Paffrath together with Meinolf Sprink, fan and community director, plus Professor Wülfing from the USG (Urological Health Foundation) will discuss the subject of early diagnosis of prostate cancer. There will also be an information stall opposite the VIP entrance to the West stunned at the BayArena. Further information on the #stellkrebsvomplatz campaign and why a preventative examination is worthwhile for Bayer 04 fans is available HERE.
At half-time there will also be an interview with Fernando Carro, chairman of the board, and sporting managing director Simon Rolfes.
Bayer 04 Partners will have information stands at the season launch. Main sponsor Barmenia will present a football rodeo on the west side of the BayArena and the team from the Zweirad-Center Prumbaum will run a bicycle workshop at the bicycle stands at the motorway supports and new Kölsch partner Früh Kölsch will bring a few tasters with them.
The stadium layout:

After the game against West Ham, Jeremie Frimpong and Elisa Senß will be honoured for their performances in the 2022/23 season. The two Leverkusen players will receive the awards for Player of the Season and Women's Player of the Season following a poll of Bayer 04 supporters over the past few weeks.
That will be followed by an exclusive autograph session with the Werkself players and the Bayer 04 Women's squad for Bayer 04 Club members, Löwenclub children as well as disabled fans. As over 20,000 fans are expected on the day of the season launch, lots have been drawn between Bayer 04 Club members, Löwenclub children plus disabled fans to decide who can collect autographs. All the relevant rules on the procedure at the autograph session will be sent to the lucky winners via email.
Fans who have not won a place at the autograph session have other options: The beer garden on the Piazza with live music plus the fan shop will be open until the end of the autograph session.
The first competitive match of the 2023/24 season is on Saturday 12 August. The Werkself are away to FC Teutonia 05 Ottensen from Hamburg in the first round of the DFB Cup. The tie will be played on Saturday with a 15.30 CEST kick-off at the Millerntor Stadium of second division FC St. Pauli.
The Bundesliga opener is a week later: The team under head coach Xabi Alonso entertain DFB Cup winners RB Leipzig at the BayArena on Saturday 19 August (kick-off: 15.30 CEST).

The Werkself face Manchester City for the very first time on Tuesday for Matchday 5 of the league phase in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League (kick-off: 21:00 CET). The hosts sit fourth in the standings and boast huge quality in attack, while Leverkusen are looking to improve their meagre record of just one win from the last 10 games away at English clubs. A key player in that regard could be Aleix Garcia, the former City midfielder who ranks highly in several passing metrics in the Champions League this season. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
Show more
The Werkself's next European trip takes them to the north-west of England as Kasper Hjulmand's side take on Manchester City on Tuesday, 25 November (kick-off: 21:00 CET) on Matchday 5 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. As usual, we'll take you along on the #aCROSSeurope journey and report from Manchester. All times listed are in CET.
Show more
The dress rehearsal in the Premier League for the match against the Werkself did not go well at the weekend. However, Manchester City are still unbeaten in the UEFA Champions League, the competition they won in 2023. In the first encounter with Bayer 04 this Tuesday, 25 November (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Pep Guardiola will be able to field just about his best line-up. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
Will the Bayer 04 U19s take the next step towards their first appearance in the knockout stage of the UEFA Youth League in the away game at Manchester City? Coach Kevin Brok is well aware of this historic opportunity, but he's not about to start worrying about the maths: "We're not concerned with the question of what might be good enough. We invest everything we can and always aim for the maximum. That's our way." The game on this penultimate Matchday 5 of the league phase takes place on Tuesday, 25 November (kick-off: 16:00 CET) at the Manchester City Academy Stadium. Werkself TV will be broadcasting the whole match exclusively for Bayer 04 club members live from 15:50 CET....
Show more
€1,000 and food for a good cause: In keeping with the long-standing cooperation between Bayer 04 and the Tafel Leverkusen e.V. food bank, the U19s are also supporting the charitable organisation in the region. In addition to the generous cheque the team were able to donate to an organisation of their choice as a result of their participation in the UEFA Youth League, coach Kevin Brok's lads donated €500 worth of food - financed by their own team kitty. Ferdinand Pohl, Jesper Schlich and Co. also actively helped to stow the food in the Tafel's premises.
Show more