“As a child of the Bundesliga, I find it incredible that our football is now in serious existential difficulty,” said Rudi Völler, sporting managing director at Bayer 04. “I started playing in the second division, had a great time back then and I know and value both leagues – they are precious and we have to come together to protect them. With all the rivalry between the clubs, it’s important now for us to help each other.”
Fernando Carro, chairman of the board: “The survival of several clubs is under threat. We feel compelled to make a contribution to the club community. At the end of the day, everybody involved shares an interest in maintaining the stability of the league structures. Only then can the Bundesliga and second division be in a position to guarantee the charisma and attraction in the future that we’ve all benefited from in the past.”
Bayer 04 and the other three participants in the current Champions League campaign have initially decided not to take up their share of as yet undistributed national DFL media income for the coming season. This sum, that currently amounts to 12.5 million euros for the current distribution fund, is topped up by the four clubs in the sum of 7.5 million euros from their own funds. The criteria for distributing the 20 million euros will be set by the DFL management committee.
“This initiative underlines the fact that solidarity in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 is not lip service. The DFL management committee is very grateful to the four Champions League participants on behalf of the community of all clubs,” explained Christian Seifert, spokesperson for the DFL management committee.
Rudi Völler added: “We all bear responsibility for the Bundesliga to continue as before. Not just from self-interest as professional football in Germany is not just a business and also not just an important factor as an employer and tax payer in this country. Football brings people together and is particularly valuable in difficult times as social support.”
The Bayer 04 Women welcome FC Carl Zeiss Jena to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday night in a white retro look - and in a unique Bayer 04 ‘50 Years of Fan Clubs’ special edition jersey. In sporting terms, head coach Roberto Pätzold's team will face the Bundesliga's bottom team at 18:30 CET looking to keep their chances of third place in the table alive with six games left to play.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without the two strikers in the immediate future. Caroline Kehrer suffered a torn ligament in her right knee and Amy Wrigge tore her cruciate ligament.
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The #B04eSports players now have the next chance to win a trophy. After their elimination in the quarter-finals of the VBL Club Championship Final 2025/26, the German club championship, Marc and Sean Landwehr will compete with seven other teams in the finals of the DFB-ePokal 2026 with prize money totalling €65,000. The "highly motivated" Leverkusen team will face the defending champions FOKUS with well-known influencer Elias ‘EliasN97’ Nerlich in the quarter-finals in Frankfurt on Friday, 20 March (from 18:15 CET). The semi-finals and final will be played on Saturday, 21 March.
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Bayer 04 host Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the 2025/26 DFB Pokal. The tie will be played on Wednesday, 22 April 2026, at the BayArena with the kick-off at 20:45 CEST. Information on ticket sales.
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Bayer 04 lost 2-0 at Arsenal FC in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg. Eberechi Eze (36') and Declan Rice (63') scored the goals for the Gunners. Despite a big effort – especially in the second half – the Werkself are out of the competition following the 1-1 draw in the first leg.
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