Back again! The Black and Reds are back in the Champions League after two seasons in the Europa League. As one of four German clubs – Eintracht Frankfurt can qualify by winning in the final of the Europa League – Bayer 04 compete in the 68th season of the competition that starts with first qualifiers on 21 June and finishes with the final in Istanbul on 10 June 2023.
The Werkself have qualified for the group stages and thereby avoid the play-offs. The three opponents Bayer 04 will face in the group stage will be decided at the draw of the groups on 25 August.
National champions like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain will be in pot 1. Borussia Dortmund are also certain of qualifying after finishing second in the Bundesliga. The Werkself will be in pot 2, 3 or 4. That will de determined according to UEFA’s five-year assessment of the club coefficient in 2021/22.
Champions League games are traditionally played on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. The dates for the group games are as follows:
Matchday 1: 6/7 September 2022
Matchday 2: 13/14 September 2022
Matchday 3: 4/5 October 2022
Matchday 4: 11/12 October 2022
Matchday 5: 25/26 October 2022
Matchday 6: 1/2 November 2022
If Bayer 04 finish first or second in their group, the Werkself will be through to the knockout rounds for the eighth time in the thirteenth campaign in the Champions League.
The Round of 16 will be drawn on 7 November and played between the middle of February and the middle of March next year. The quarter-finals are in the middle of April and the semi-finals in the middle of May. The final at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium is, as previously mentioned, is to be played on 10 June 2023.
Bayer 04 have made the third highest number of appearances in the Champions League (12) for a Bundesliga club behind Bayern Munich (25) and Borussia Dortmund (16). RB Leipzig have been in the Champions League four times and Borussia Mönchengladbach plus VfL Wolfsburg three times each.
High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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Sofie Zdebel is up for the Goal of the Month award for February on ARD-Sportschau. Fans have until 21 March (19:00 CET) to vote for the Germany U23 international's volley to make it 2-0 in the Bayer 04 Women's derby against FC Köln (2-1).
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen are further expanding their partner network: The feed manufacturer PerNaturam is an official sponsor of the Bayer 04 Womens team. The partnership opens up a wide range of opportunities for the company to position its brand in the Bundesliga environment.
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Do you dream of wearing the Bayer cross on your chest? To play in black and red like your role models Loreen Bender, Cornelia Kramer, Kristin Kögel and co. from the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga? Then take your chance now! Our female youth teams are once again on the lookout for new talent. That's why Bayer 04 are organising a talent day on 12 April 2026 for the first time this year with trials for female juniors.
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