
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.

With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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A successful fourth preseason friendly ahead of the start of the training camp: The Werkself secured a 3-0 victory over Rot-Weiss Essen at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The goals in what was a commanding and dominant performance by Leverkusen from the outset were scored by Ibrahim Maza (8'), Patrik Schick from the penalty spot (23’) and, in the second half, Montrell Culbreath with a header (79’). The team set off for their training camp in Blankenhain in the Weimarer Land region after the game.
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personal Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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You have voted – your ‘Team of the Quarter-Century’ has been decided! This historic selection, covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2024, features honorary captains, Bundesliga champions, double winners and Champions League finalists. Edmond Tapsoba is the only player from the current Bayer 04 squad to make it into the starting XI, while his team-mate Patrik Schick is on the bench. Simon Rolfes, the current managing director sport, is also in the lie-up. A truly special team that brings together a quarter of a century of Bayer 04 history – and has left a decisive mark on the club.
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Following Patrik Schick, Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Kerim Alajbegovic earlier this week, the next World Cup participant is back on the training ground in Leverkusen: On Thursday 30 July, Malik Tillman rejoined the squad, completing his first training session under head coach Carles Martínez.
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