
"The news has hit us all very hard although we knew Heinz has been unwell for a long time and because of that hadn't been seen very often at matches over the past few months," said Andreas Paffrath, one of the Bayer 04 fan liaison officers. Heinz Ern was not only a highly valued contact for 'Paffi'. Ern was truly a Bayer 04 football fanatic and black and red through and through. He followed the Werkself all over Europe and supported his team in Lisbon and Trondheim, in Moscow and Kharkiv and also went to summer and winter training camps. Heinz Ern did not restrict his commitment to the Bayer 04 first team but he also often attended games played by the (now defunct) U23s both at the Haberland Stadium and away at Verl, Lotte, Wegberg or elsewhere at smaller stadiums.
In recent years, he also developed an interest in the Bayer 04 women's squad, supporting the team on their way to the Bundesliga and he looked after their Facebook page with equal commitment. And he also supported the girls' youth teams in their games across the state. 'Papa Heinz' – the nickname he quickly acquired from the young male and female players at the Werkself and that is how he acted, always full of empathy and with an open ear for the concerns of the youth players.
"We have lost part of the Bayer 04 fan life with Heinz passing on," said 'Paffi' who always valued the pensioner as a trusted contact and critical observer with complete commitment to the club. Heinz Ern was his own man and never hid his opinions. He shared his massive passion for Bayer 04 with his son Stefan and they were both in the 1904online fan club. He will be hugely missed there too.

Bayer 04 host VfB Stuttgart at the BayArena on matchday 8 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The game will be played on Halloween on Saturday, 31 October with the a 15:30 CET kick-off. The latest information on ticket sales.
Show more
Bayer 04 host SC Paderborn at the BayArena on matchday 10 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The game against the newly promoted team is on Saturday, 21 November with the a 15:30 CET kick-off. The latest information on ticket sales.
Show more
“School education: a key to success in a sporting career?” – this and other questions relating to dual training in sport, particularly in football, took centre stage at the EDU-DC Conference at the BayArena. The event, held in the Premium Lounge, brought together experts from top clubs and associations from 24 nations, including England, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands. Representatives from Bayer 04 and TSV Bayer 04 provided insights into the interplay between school and sport at the Werkself.
Show more
Decision made: Germany will submit a bid to the IOC (International Olympic Committee) to host the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Munich. The representatives of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) voted for Munich over Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr at their extraordinary meeting in Baden-Baden on Saturday 26 September. Berlin had already withdrawn from the vote a few days earlier.
Show more