The Ulrich Haberland Stadium and Pitch 1 at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre were assessed as the two home venues in the Bundesliga for the Women’s team. The basis for the award is a DFB ground staff tool where representatives of each team and the referees provide their assessment of the quality of the pitch after every league game. The scale ranges from 1 (very poor) to 10 (excellent). Bayer 04 had the best average mark of 8.76. VfL Wolfsburg were second and SGS Essen were third.
“We see the award as confirmation of our work and an incentive to carry on doing all we can to provide the best possible playing surface,” said Georg Schmitz. “When you remember our U17, U19 and Women’s teams were playing home games at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium last season and the Werkself trained there twice a week then the pitch was used a lot – and that demands appropriate care. That makes us even happier to receive such recognition for our work.”
Under the direction of Schmitz, the large number of pitches at Bayer 04 are looked after by a team of 14 permanent members of staff, part-timers and employees. While there is a hybrid playing surface at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium – a durable mixture of grass and synthetic fibres – Pitch 1 at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre has a traditional turf playing surface. The ground staff work on a shift system as there is almost daily use of both venues.
Linda Schöttler, general manager of the Bayer 04 Women, very much values this work: “We can train and play under optimum conditions and the playing surfaces are exemplary at both sites. That’s not always the case in the Women’s Bundesliga. There are big differences at times with regard to the pitch quality at the various venues.”
Bayer 04 won a pitch of the year award for the first time two years ago. In 2017/18, an expert panel from the German Football League (DFL) named the BayArena as the ‘Bundesliga pitch of the year’.
Ten years after retiring as a player, Kristina Sundov is returning to the Bayer 04 Women’s team as assistant coach. The 39-year-old former Croatia international takes over from Remzi Kahraman, who has taken up a new challenge abroad. She has been given a contract to 30 June 2028.
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The training pitches at the BayArena are already buzzing with activity again, even before training officially begins next week. On Monday morning, a small group from the Werkself first-team squad completed a session lasting around an hour. Both new and familiar faces were present.
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One ticket, two matches – and a varied programme of events, including appearances by players from the professional teams: Bayer 04 has come up with something very special for the 2026 season launch on Saturday, 8 August. From morning right through to the evening, Werkself fans can use just one ticket to not only enjoy top-class football from the Bayer 04 teams live, but also to experience unforgettable moments with the whole family through a variety of hands-on activities around the BayArena and the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The day will also end on a real high note: after both matches, Bayer 04 supporters will have the opportunity to interact directly with the players during joint activities and get to know them from a different angle.
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Issa Traoré is moving from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Slovakian top-flight side AS Trencin. The club has loaned the centre-back out for one year to this year’s ninth-placed team in the Slovakian league.
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