The funds from the 15th presentation of the Bayer 04 Volunteering Award are to be used, according to need, by clubs particularly affected by the two aforementioned events. The Middle Rhine Football Association (FVM) was given €10,000 for that purpose and the Lower Rhine Football Association (FVN) €5,000.
“While professional football has taken place over recent months, amateur football has often been called off due to the pandemic. The consequences of the flood disaster have further worsened the situation for the clubs,” explained Fernando Carro, CEO of Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH and the Bayer 04 Sportförderung gGmbH. “The allocation of this year’s Volunteering Award takes account of these circumstances. We want to honour the commitment of as many volunteers as possible at the clubs in the two local football associations.”
This year’s award was presented at the Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Greuther Fürth at the BayArena on Saturday, 4 December. That was part of the DFB campaign matchday ‘Danke ans Ehrenamt 2021’ (Thanks to Volunteering 2021), which Bayer 04 supported in a number of ways at the weekend.
As a result of the postponement of the 2020 awards due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the winners of the 2020 Volunteering Awards joined the two association presidents Bernd Neuendorf (FVM) and Peter Frymuth (FVN) at the event. That involved two clubs from the Middle Rhine Football Association Jugendsport Wenau 1957 and SC Sparta Bardenberg plus TuB Mussum 1955, a club from the Lower Rhine Football Association (FVN).
Bayer 04 Leverkusen Sportförderung gGmbH was founded in 2007 with the aim of promoting volunteering in football. 49 clubs from the Middle Rhine (FVM) and Lower Rhine (FVN) associations have received over €220,000 of financial support from the annual Volunteering Award to date.
Following the international break, the Bayer 04 women’s team face their next head-to-head clash in the race for a top spot in the Bundesliga. In Saturday’s home match (14:00 CEST), the fourth-placed side host third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. Head coach Roberto Pätzold is well aware of the great opportunity this presents for his team.
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Bayer 04 make their first trip to Poland for over 30 years as they face Lech Poznan on Matchday 2 of the league phase in the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. The game kicks off at 18:45 CEST on Thursday, but the team will be preparing for the action on Wednesday with training, travel and pre-match press conferences. We’ll bring you all the latest news here…
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Bayer 04 remain unbeaten in the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. After winning the opener against NK Celje, the Werkself followed that up on Thursday night with a 4–0 win away at the Polish champions Lech Poznan. Patrik Schick, who came on as a substitute early in the game, scored twice from the penalty spot, and Malik Tillman also found the back of the net before half-time. The second half was a more subdued affair, with Ibrahim Maza scoring late on to seal the final 4-0 scoreline.
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Since 2023, Bayer 04 has been organising regular free goalkeeping coach training sessions at the BayArena. As in previous years, the event attracted enormous interest in mid-October 2026. Around 140 participants – mostly goalkeeping coaches from the region, but also team and academy coaches as well as association staff – came to the Werkself stadium to gain expert knowledge on the subject of zonal marking. Through a theoretical keynote presentation and a practical session on the pitch, the participants gained insights into goalkeeping and goalkeeper training at Bayer 04.
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