To round off this year's #Morethanfootball Action Weeks a large number of the active clubs and associations are coming together for the 15th EFDN Conference, held virtually from 12 to 14 April, to exchange information and ideas on joint action and commitment.
With Meinolf Sprink (Director of Fans/Community), who is also on the EFDN management board, plus Jörg Kappenhagen (Head of Community Affairs), Matthias Adler (Organisational development/Community) and Florian Wolfrum (Memberships), Bayer 04 have four representatives at this years EFDN Conference. The diverse programme offers participants an insight into the way Europe's leading football clubs and organisations currently, and in the future, can develop and implement initiatives for community and social responsibility.
This year's conference is taking place virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. A varied programme with breakout meetings, open forums, practical workshops, monitoring and evaluation initiatives and round-table discussions offer optimum conditions for the exchange of information. The EFDN Conference is the biggest get-together of experts for community and social responsibility (CSR) in European professional football.
Bayer 04 have been an active member of the European Football for Development Network (EFDN) since 2015 and the network now has over 100 members across Europe pursuing the targets of promoting the power football as a tool for social development. To this end, the EFDN supports and advises its members and offers the exchange of opportunities, knowledge and experience at a European level to improve the quality and efficiency of national and local initiatives in the area of football for sustainable development. The #Morethanfootball Action Weeks are organised under the aegis of the EFDN.
The fourth showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 starts for the Leverkusen eSports team today, Thursday 22 January (live on the B04eSports Twitch channel and on the Bayer 04 app from 19:00 CET). In the online preliminary round, the Black and Reds will once again compete with six previously drawn opponents for a place in the Top 16 and the associated entry into the offline knockout round in Berlin on 2 February at the fourth showdown. The lowdown on our next three opponents in the online preliminary round.
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The fourth European away trip of the season in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 takes the Werkself to the Greek capital. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday seven in the UCL league phase. The match at the Karaiskakis Stadium is on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET). We'll be taking you on a trip to Athens and reporting on the Werkself close-up...
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A great honour for Bayer 04 Women's German international: as part of the 2025 Sports Awards, Carlotta Wamser entered her name into the City of Leverkusen's Golden Book. On Tuesday, she looked back on a special year in a talk in the Morsbroich Castle hall of mirrors.
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It was a disappointing night in Athens: The Werkself lost 2-0 away to Olympiacos on Matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. In a match that was intense and fiery from the outset, the high-pressing home side made the better start and took the lead through Costinha on two minutes. Although the Werkself had a number of chances to equalise, the clinical Greek side increased the lead to 2-0 shortly before half-time (45+1’). In the second half, Leverkusen once again gave their all and showed total commitment but, despite their best efforts, the Black and Reds were unable to break down the Olympiacos defence on the night.
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