With safeguards: Youth teams get going

After a three-week break from training for all the black and red youth teams, the U19 and U17 players will be the first to return to Leverkusen from Monday 20 July. Together with all the youth coaches and staff from the youth section, they will undergo coronavirus tests. “We have developed comprehensive policies over the past weeks and months to minimise the risk of infection as much as possible. Now as before, health comes first,” declared Thomas Eichin, the youth director at Bayer 04.

The U12s start their preparations for the new season on Tuesday morning, 21 July. All the other teams from the U10 to U19 age groups will also return on the same day – each at a different time; players and coaches will arrive at different times. In addition, one-way systems will be set up at Kurtekotten and the other training venues. The two youngest year groups (U8 and U9s) will start training at the start of August.

The U19 and U17s will use the facilities at the Kurt Rieß complex and the BayArena for their training sessions with friendlies being played at Kurtekotten. The season in the youth leagues is set to start on the third weekend in September as an international release period is planned. The other junior teams will start on the first weekend of September. All plans are subject to the prevailing infection rates in and around Leverkusen as well as measures taken by Federal and state governments plus decisions made by the associations.

Training sessions and friendlies behind closed doors

Spectators will not be allowed to attend sessions at Kurtekotten and the other Bayer 04 training venues or friendlies until further notice. The management of the junior teams are discussing matters and aiming to achieve the return of parents and relatives to sports facilities while adhering to hygiene protocols and distancing rules.

Bayer 04 youth coaches:
U19/U17: Markus von Ahlen, Patrick Weiser, Jan Hoepner, Thomas Zdebel
U15: Markus Daun, Erdal Celik
U14: Mirko Casper, Florian Blaschyk
U13: Benjamin Adam, Marco Walter
U12: Pierre de Wit, Maximilian Straub
U11: Sebastian Lang, Marvin Schmitz
U10: Alexander Nuss, Fritz Vosen
U9: Tobias Greuel, Dimitri Teschner
U8: Jürgen Haagmans, Mark Fuldauer, Tim Molowitz