
"The work of Heinz Heitmann made an important contribution to Bayer 04 being an established and successful member of the Bundesliga family. We are grateful for his decades of commitment and his close association with the club," said Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO.
Heitmann started working in Leverkusen in 1976 as the youth director and manager at Bayer 04. Shortly after that, he became the managing director of the overall club SV Bayer 04 with its football, boxing, fist ball, and ball and athletics sections. And in 1979, the year of promotion to the Bundesliga, Heitmann took over the post of head and director of the football section at the request of the then president Dr. Jürgen Schwericke.
In Bayer 04's first five years in the Bundesliga, Heinz Heitmann was the general manager responsible for almost everything at the club: Finance and budget planning, contract and transfer negotiations, licensing, stadium administration, pitchside advertising, training camps and much more besides. A man for all seasons who played a big part in the increasing professionalisation of the club structures in the first years in the Bundesliga.
When he ended his time as general manager in 1984, Heitmann carried on working in the Bayer works. Of course, he remained attached to football and Bayer 04. In 1992, he took over the voluntary role of managing the club's Veterans team, which was mainly made up from the promotion side of 1979. "Our work together lasted through the decades and they all remained Bayer lads," Heitmann once said. He led the Veterans team up to 2006 before handing over the reins to Michael Kentschke.
A regular visited to the stands at the BayArena and holder of an honorary season card, Heinz Heitmann watched Werkself home games until recently. He passed away in the night from Wednesday to Thursday at the age of 82.

Newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg will begin the 2026/27 season as Bundesliga club number 59. The Saarland club start their first Bundesliga campaign at home to the Werkself on Saturday, 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST) at the URSAPHARM Arena on Kaiserlinde, which is currently being rebuilt. For one Leverkusen player in the ‘Elv’ line-up, the clash will be a special reunion. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Ernest Poku is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen to play in the Turkish Süper Lig. The club has loaned the Dutch winger to Beşiktaş for one year. If certain criteria are met, the Istanbul club – who finished fourth in the Turkish top flight last season – will be obliged to make the move permanent.
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The fixture details for the Bayer 04 Women’s first match in the 2026/27 DFB Pokal has been confirmed: As announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Thursday morning, the Leverkusen Women will face second-tier side FC Viktoria Berlin in the first round on Sunday 27 September at 14:00 CEST.
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40 years of European nights, unforgettable moments and great stories. With the new European jersey, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and kit supplier New Balance are celebrating the club’s history in European competitions under the epic slogan ‘40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.’ The European jersey is now available from the Bayer 04 web shop and the Bayer 04 Fanwelt.
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Here we go: the Bayer 04 European jersey has landed, and the draw for the group stage of the UEFA Europa League is coming up tomorrow. To mark the start of the 2026/27 European campaign, Bayer 04 are hosting an autograph session on Friday afternoon, 28 August, from 15:00 to 15:30 CEST at the Fanwelt, with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio. Brian the Lion will also be there.
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