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.
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 personalised 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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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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