
Some 60 children attending the Bayer 04 Soccer School were in the press conference room at the BayArena on Thursday afternoon eagerly expecting the arrival of Noah Mbamba and Madi Monamay. After a vocal reception, the 6- to 14-year-olds fired off questions to the Belgian duo about how they started football and their motives for moving under the Bayer Cross. "Leverkusen are a good team. We want to achieve a lot here," Monamay told the children.
Mbamba revealed to the children that he met Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Co. in the group match against Paris Saint-Germain in the 2021/22 Champions League campaign and that it was one of the absolute highlights of his career to date. Monamay answered the question of how he wanted to achieve his dream of being a professional footballer: "Through discipline, hard work in training and belief in myself.".

Mbamba and Monamay also answered in response to the classic questions of "Messi or Ronaldo?" and "Who is your favourite player?" Defender Monamay named World Cup and European Championship winner Sergio Ramos with the explanation: "He's a good player of outstanding merit and one of my idols in football."
All the questions were answered by the end of the 30-minute children's press conference. The Leverkusen players finished off by happily fulfilling all autograph and photo requests – and after a good hour they left happy and clearly satisfied children at the Bayer 04 Soccer School.

Today brings the first match of the season for the Werkself. Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign today, Saturday 22 August, at 13:00 CEST with a first-round DFB Pokal tie away to third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The 3,700 travelling fans can not only look forward to what will hopefully be a successful start to the season, but also now organise their journeys to Black and Reds games even more easily via the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Meanwhile, following two defeats at the start of the league season, SV Wehen are hoping to spring a surprise in the DFB Pokal tie. Today’s matchday news.
Show more
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
Bayer 04 start the 2026/27 season away to third-division side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Ahead of the DFB Pokal tie on Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez spoke at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The topics: anticipation, passion, the fans’ support – and the captaincy for the new season.
Show more
After 62 days of preparation, the time has finally come: the Werkself kick off the new Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga season on Sunday (16:00 CEST) with an away match at RB Leipzig. Following a major shake-up over the summer, with eleven players leaving and twelve new signings, initial impressions from the past few weeks have given manager Roberto Pätzold great cause for optimism.
Show more
SV Wehen Wiesbaden undoubtedly envisaged a different start to the new season. After two matchdays, the Hessen side currently sit bottom of the Liga 3 table. On Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), SVWW host the Werkself in the first round of the DFB Pokal at their home ground, the BRITA Arena. It was there, in this very competition a year ago, that the club almost pulled off a massive upset. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more