Over the past few months, the 14 Bundesliga clubs have driven forward a joint process to strengthen German women's football. Following the successful collaboration in the Women’s Bundesliga business plan ‘Geschäftsplan Frauen-Bundesliga Projekt GbR’, the "Frauen-Bundesliga FBL e.V." has now been created. Bayer 04 and the other clubs are joining forces in this organisation to ensure the modern, professional and sustainable development of the league and to further increase the economic performance of professional women's football.
The clubs are pursuing the goal of investing significantly in women's football, promoting it in sporting terms and further increasing its social visibility and relevance. It remains to be seen whether the German Football Association (DFB), which was originally also involved, will continue to support the process in the future. The association will initially be founded without the involvement of the DFB.
Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 Leverkusen CEO, said: "The founding of the FBL is an important milestone for our club and for women's football in Germany. The fact the act of foundation will now initially take place without the DFB is very regrettable and, given the circumstances, also disappointing. I would like to emphasise that the clubs' negotiators enjoy our full confidence and can be sure of our support. We remain hopeful that the challenges that have arisen can be overcome in the near future."
The official founding ceremony of the Frauen-Bundesliga FBL e.V. will take place on 10 December at 14:00 CET at the Adler Business Club at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt am Main.
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.
Show more
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.
Show more
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…
Show more
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.
Show more
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.
Show more
