The Special Champions League is promoted by EFDN (European Football Development Network) and the European Union (EU) and thereby represents an international extension to the ‘Einfach Fußball’ activities at Bayer 04 that have been running for years.
Bayer 04 have worked alongside partners on the Einfach Fußball programme initiated by Bayer AG since 2010. This has given young people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to be regularly involved in their favourite hobby of football at over 20 locations throughout Germany. This also includes inclusive tournament formats: The ‘Einfach Fußball’ tournaments, held indoors and outdoors twice a year in Leverkusen, have been a great success with over 500 participants taking part - and now it moves on to the European stage.
The EU initiative will be staged in the form of five international tournaments with different hosts. The first tournament is in the Portuguese capital Lisbon on Wednesday 8 February. Leverkusen are joined by Werder Bremen as German representatives. Also involved are: Fundação Benfica and Special Olympics from Portugal, Fundación Alcoraz and Fundación Levante from Spain, NEC Nijmegen and Only Friends (Ajax) from the Netherlands, Foundation 92 and Everton in the Community from the UK, KAS Eupen from Belgium plus Juventus for Special from Italy.
Bayer 04 will welcome the other teams to Leverkusen on 7 June of this year.
EU Disclaimer:
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Werkself TV shows highlights of the 3-0 win against FC Villarreal on matchday 8 in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league phase...
Show more
The Champions League journey continues! On the eighth and final matchday of the league phase of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26, Bayer 04 secured their place in the play-offs with a commanding 3-0 win over Villarreal. Malik Tillman put in a mature and combative performance for Leverkusen, scoring a brace (12', 35') to make it 2-0 at the break, while Alejandro Grimaldo (57') and plenty of control of the game did the rest in the second half. The draw for the Werkself's next UCL opponents will take place on Friday 30 January at 12:00 CET.
Show more
The Leverkusen eSports team played the remaining three of the six matches in the online preliminary round of the fourth showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. RB Leipzig and SC Freiburg were among the teams with the highest goal threat, including two World Cup participants in their ranks. Although the #B04eSports players were defeated in the matches overall, nine points from the first three games last week were enough for Leverkusen to advance to the offline round in Berlin on 2 February.
Show more
A decisive showdown awaits: The Werkself are aiming to progress to the play-off round of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League with a home win against Villarreal CF on the eighth and final matchday of the league phase. Ahead of the match on Wednesday, 28 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the game, the possible return of Edmond Tapsoba and a statement from new signing Jonas Omlin in an exclusive interview with Werkself TV. Lucas Vázquez, for his part, spoke about his role on and off the pitch as well as tomorrow’s opponents, who he often faced in Spain with Real Madrid.
Show more
