
The FCSA was founded in 2007 by the charitable and independent foundation Scort, which is based in Switzerland. The network brings professional football clubs together to enable them to make a sustainable commitment to development aid. Bayer 04 has worked for many years in crisis areas and regions formerly affected by conflict.
This includes the Werkself starting 13 international projects with different modules. For example, a number of Bayer 04 coaches have worked with youth coaches in Uganda, Colombia, Vietnam and Tanzania since 2009 where they were able to share their knowledge with 726 newly trained coaches who were then able to pass that on to children and teenagers locally.
Marc-Andre Buchwalder, CEO of the Scort Foundation/Football Club Social Alliance, said: "The alliance has developed football as a sustainable instrument of development and Bayer 04 has been an integral part of this partnership for over 10 years. Thousands of young coaches in areas of conflict have benefited from their expertise and they then had a positive influence through sport on another 100,000 children. Thank you Bayer 04, thank you Leverkusen and we wish you lots of success in the Europa League."
Fernando Carro, chairman of the board at Bayer 04, also endorses the extension to the partnership with the FCSA: "It is very close to our hearts here at Bayer 04 to be able to provide the best possible support in areas of conflict and pass on our expertise to the young coaches locally."
On the Scort Foundation:
The Scort Foundation is a charitable, politically and religiously independent foundation based in Switzerland. They are committed to the area of 'sport for development' where sport is used as a medium to achieve different health, social and locally relevant targets. Through the development and implementation of training projects in crisis areas and regions formerly affected by conflict, Scort supports young adults who can act as community leaders in their societies. The Scort Foundation is also a partner of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Against this background, the Scort Foundation founded the Football Club Social Alliance (FCSA) in 2007. Together with Scort, the FCSA trains young adults to be children's football coaches in areas of crisis and former conflict. In their position as coaches, they can have a positive effect on the lives of countless children as role models and direct contacts.

Carolin Simon is the new captain of the Bayer 04 women’s team. The full-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in the summer, will take over the captain’s armband for the 2026/27 season. Simon returned to Leverkusen in the summer after ten years away. The 33-year-old succeeds goalkeeper Friederike Repohl, who retired at the end of last season.
Show more
Farid Alfa-Ruprecht is going out on loan from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Bundesliga 2 side Hertha Berlin. The pacy winger will be at the Berlin club for one year.
Show more
Heading towards the competitive start of the 2026/27 season together: the Werkself kicked off preparations for the DFB Pokal clash at third-tier SV Wehen Wiesbaden with an open session in front of their fans on Tuesday morning. Before the first-round tie on Saturday 22 August at 13:00 CEST - for which the away section is already sold out - there'll be one more open session on Thursday from 11:00 CEST, when fans have another chance to watch head coach Carles Martínez's men at work.
Show more
Bayer 04 host RB Leipzig at the BayArena on matchday 4 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The game is on Sunday 20 September with the kick-off at 15:30 CEST. The latest information on ticket sales.
Show more