The concourse at the BayArena is open to fans three hours before kick-off at 15:00 CEST. The stands are open from 16:30 CEST. For the season opener, shuttle buses operate from 15:00 CEST, and city buses run from 16:00 CEST. An overview can be found HERE. A valid ticket is required for entrance, which is exclusively available via the Bayer 04 app and can only be displayed there.
Fans can spend time enjoying the varied programme of events up to kick-off. Around the stadium there are child friendly activities, creative opportunities to join in and a range of games to provide the best possible entertainment. The youngest Werkself fans can look forward to bouncy castles and face painting for starters. There are also lots of places with stamp cards. Children can collect stamps there and at the end take part in a special prize game.
Another events area is an information stand from Bayer 04 partner Zweirad Prumbaum. Visitors to the stadium who have come to the season opener by bike can have a free bike check-up at Prumbaum. The award ceremony for the city bike event will take place at the stadium at half-time in the friendly.
See below for an overview of events:
Bayer 04 Club members can also look forward to special and exclusive events, which require prior registration. That includes a members dialogue with Bayer 04 CEO Fernando Carro.
Ahead of the friendly for the team under head coach Erik ten Hag, there will be an autograph session with the Bayer 04 Women's team (16:00 to 17:00 CEST on the west side of the BayArena). Before the game, there will also be roundtable discussion with Women's head coach Roberto Pätzold and Achim Feifel, sporting director of the Bayer 04 Women.
Before the match action, the men's and women's first-team squads will be officially presented on the pitch. After the final whistle, the players will distribute signed balls.
The shirts worn by the Werkself will be auctioned for a good cause following the friendly. Funds raised will go to the green tech company Plastiks who have been a partner of Bayer 04 since November last year. The sustainable organisation from Spain acts worldwide for the recycling of waste and against waste pollution. The match-worn shirts will be auctioned HERE.
Over 18,000 tickets have been sold for the season opener so far. Fans who don't want to miss out on the varied programme of events and the friendly against Pisa SC can secure tickets HERE. Bayer 04 Club members receive a discount of €5.00 leaving to them to pay just €10.00 per ticket. Tickets are exclusively available via the Bayer 04 app and can only be displayed there.
Former Bundesliga and Germany keeper Manfred Manglitz, who was promoted to the Oberliga West with Bayer 04 in 1962, passed away on Monday at the age of 86.
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The Werkself fixture list for the 2026/27 season in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga has been finalised. To kick off the season, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team travel to RB Leipzig between 21 and 24 August. The fixtures were announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Thursday morning. The season will conclude with a home match on 23 May 2027 against newly promoted side Mainz 05.
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On Wednesday evening, Monheim City Council voted against a planning resolution for the Bayer 04 Campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße in Monheim in a secret ballot, with 19 votes in favour, 25 against and one abstention. The legal status of the project therefore remains unchanged.
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The Bundesliga has set the exact dates for the first four matchdays in the 2026/27 league campaign. Here is an overview of the fixtures.
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