
For the Bundesliga home match against Eintracht Frankfurt on 19 October, the German champions and DFB Pokal winners are adapting the branding in all relevant areas of the BayArena, the Ulrich Haberland Stadium and the Kurtekotten performance centre to the new BarmeniaGothaer brand. Only the Barmenia lettering on the jerseys of the Werkself players and all other teams under the cross will remain as it is until the end of the 2024/25 season.
In the BayArena and the other Bayer 04 properties, on the other hand, the new brand identity of the main sponsor will be adopted promptly, both digitally and in conventional static presentation. Whether in digital perimeter advertising, at Stadium Vision or in the press conferences, on sponsor boards, substitutes‘ benches, in the mixed zone, on car park signs, entrance pillars, flagpoles or the team bus - the BarmeniaGothaer logo will be present everywhere from 19 October. Bayer 04's print products and digital channels will already support the new corporate identity from 8 October.
The close cooperation and joint focus of BarmeniaGothaer and Bayer 04 Leverkusen will remain unchanged. A successful and trusting partnership that has existed since 2016 and that will continue until at least 2028.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen have appointed Carles Martínez Novell as the new head coach. The 42-year-old Spaniard worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. Martínez finished last term in ninth place with the club from the south of France. He will take over the Werkself on 1 July 2026 and has signed a contract to 30 June 2028. Martínez, whose contract with Toulouse expires at the end of the month, succeeds Kasper Hjulmand at Leverkusen, who is leaving the club after one season.
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Welcome to Leverkusen, Carles Martínez Novell. Bayer 04 have appointed the 42-year-old Spaniard as the new head coach on a contract to 2028. Martínez most recently worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. He previously spent four years at Barcelona's legendary academy La Masia in his home city. Bayer04.de introduces Martínez in more detail.
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Bayer 04 plans for the 2026/27 pre-season continue to take shape. The Werkself will kick off the new season in mid-July with the return to the training ground. The highlight will be the official season opener on 8 August at the BayArena, including a friendly against La Liga club Sevilla. Friendlies in Germany will take the team to neighbouring Monheim, Offenbach and Jena.
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Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
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