The award and the associated prize money are aimed at particularly committed clubs from the Middle Rhine (FVM) and Lower Rhine (FVN) football associations. Since 2007, Bayer 04 Sportförderung gGmbH has awarded the Volunteers Award, which has already provided 55 clubs with more than €250,000 in financial support. Last year, the prize went to SV Schlebusch 1923 e.V., Vorwärts Spoho 98 e.V. and DJK Rheinkraft Neuss 1914 e.V.. Once again this year, 46 clubs from both areas of the association applied.
This year's winners were honoured on Sunday, 3 December, during the Werkself’s Bundesliga home match against Borussia Dortmund at the BayArena by the advisory board, consisting of Fernando Carro (Bayer 04 managing director), Peter Frymuth (FVN president), Dirk Brennecke (FVM managing director) and Marc Adomat (Leverkusen city director).
“Volunteering is a fundamental component of football,” said Carro. “The voluntary work of each and every individual in sport conveys and promotes values that are indispensable for our society. The award is not just about recognising the winners. We also want to honour all other applicants for their day-to-day implementation of innovative projects and hope that numerous clubs and individuals will continue to get involved in the future.”
BSV Roleber 1919
BSV Roleber 1919 has looked ahead to the future with its sustainability concept and its numerous associated key topics. The concept pursues an innovative approach that goes far beyond a purely social commitment. This includes switching to fair trade products within the club, replacing old refrigerators, switching to LED lighting and setting up a sustainability working group.
TuS 05 Oberpleis
TuS 05 Oberpleis submitted a very comprehensive application. The ‘Fit for you and Planet blue’ exercise programme developed in collaboration with Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences played a major role in this. The aim of the programme is to offer sustainable and, above all, free outdoor sports activities. The prize money is to be used for new project ideas.
SV 1924 Glehn
SV 1924 Glehn runs various projects to promote the village community. One of these successful projects is ‘Hanna's Hope’ in Namibia. Funds generated to date and in the future are to be donated. Glehn's application in 2022 had already been very positive and the club had already won the Volunteers Award in 2011.
“Year after year, this is an incredibly valuable gathering, both in terms of the content covered and the opportunity for mutual discussion,” stressed Bayer 04 goalkeeping coach David Thiel in his welcoming address at this year’s goalkeeping coaches’ meeting. This was the third time in four seasons that the event had been held at the BayArena. Organised by the German Football Association (DFB), the meeting brought together goalkeeping coaches from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and the 3rd division from the west region. For the first time this year, goalkeeping coaches from the youth performance centres (NLZ) were also present. Bayer 04 fitness coach Markus Müller provided fascinating insights into the specific fitness training carried out with the Werkself’s goalkeepers.
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It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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