That means this weekend’s matches could have been played. But the German Football Association (DFB) has reacted to the political decisions by postponing the forthcoming Bundesliga matchday for U19 and U17 sides.
Like the DFB, the West German Football Association (WDFV) has also cancelled the matchday for junior competitions at the weekend. For Bayer 04, this decision affects the U15s (U15 Regional League West) plus the U14, U13, U12 teams who are all due to play in the youth cups in their respective age groups. The U14 and U13 sides go into the enforced break as league leaders.
While the U12 to U19 postponements are due to decisions at association level, Bayer 04 have cancelled the club’s own U8 to U11 fixtures after internal discussions. That means all the youth teams at Bayer 04 now go into a four-week break in football.
In times of increasing infection rates and contact bans there is a need – as in the lockdown earlier in the year – for alternative training in the form of individual sessions. The youth section at Bayer 04 is already looking at possible options.
“We want to continue to support and develop the lads despite the absence of full training sessions. Of course, health comes first. We are working all the time to provide options for the youth players that take account of the development of the pandemic and at the same time ensure we are able to live up to our role as providers of education and development,” explained Thomas Eichin, the head of the Bayer 04 Performance Centre. “We also always see every change as a chance to focus in the immediate future on aspects that perhaps do not get the same attention in ‘normal’ day-to-day training.”
Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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Carles Martìnez is raring to go. The 42-year-old speaks in his first interview in Leverkusen about the club's development to date and how he wants to build on it. He describes his previous work in France, Kuwait, Qatar and his native Barcelona, his experience in developing young players, and the key steps between now and the start of pre-season training.
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