
The 72 pages of the document describe the many sides of the ongoing work in the community and provides an in-depth insight into the different areas of social commitment. Subjects such as inclusion, volunteering, the interaction of the various supporters groups plus children and youth work are the key areas in the report. In addition, Bayer 04 Leverkusen also highlight aspects such as employee development, environmentally-friendly catering at the BayArena and Youth team development.
“The key point is the central question of our current and future corporate strategy: How do issues of the environment, society, fans, employees, players and partners of the Werkself influence our core business of football,” said Bayer 04 CEO Michael Schade in explaining the aim of the CSR report. He emphasised, “social responsibility - as is the case with the parent company Bayer AG - has a long tradition and practical implementation.”
The A4 brochure, in both German and English, and available online, presents a proactive view of Bayer 04 staff, fans, media as well as the multipliers in football. Under the rubric ‘Wir.04’, case examples, interviews and photo galleries document the great community feeling in and around Bayer 04 Leverkusen that is a driving force, concept and obligation for getting involved with the community to make a contribution to society in Leverkusen, the surrounding region and overseas as well. This clearly demonstrates the potential significance and power of football in making a valuable contribution to solving social challenges.

Today brings the first match of the season for the Werkself. Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign today, Saturday 22 August, at 13:00 CEST with a first-round DFB Pokal tie away to third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The 3,700 travelling fans can not only look forward to what will hopefully be a successful start to the season, but also now organise their journeys to Black and Reds games even more easily via the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Meanwhile, following two defeats at the start of the league season, SV Wehen are hoping to spring a surprise in the DFB Pokal tie. Today’s matchday news.
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Carolin Simon is the new captain of the Bayer 04 women’s team. The full-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in the summer, will take over the captain’s armband for the 2026/27 season. Simon returned to Leverkusen in the summer after ten years away. The 33-year-old succeeds goalkeeper Friederike Repohl, who retired at the end of last season.
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Bayer 04 start the 2026/27 season away to third-division side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Ahead of the DFB Pokal tie on Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez spoke at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The topics: anticipation, passion, the fans’ support – and the captaincy for the new season.
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After 62 days of preparation, the time has finally come: the Werkself kick off the new Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga season on Sunday (16:00 CEST) with an away match at RB Leipzig. Following a major shake-up over the summer, with eleven players leaving and twelve new signings, initial impressions from the past few weeks have given manager Roberto Pätzold great cause for optimism.
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SV Wehen Wiesbaden undoubtedly envisaged a different start to the new season. After two matchdays, the Hessen side currently sit bottom of the Liga 3 table. On Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), SVWW host the Werkself in the first round of the DFB Pokal at their home ground, the BRITA Arena. It was there, in this very competition a year ago, that the club almost pulled off a massive upset. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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