The club is thereby raising attention for an important issue. Every year on 17 November the focus is on premature births and associated implications. 60,000 children are preterm in Germany. That means every tenth child is born before the 37th week of pregnancy. Premature babies are the biggest child patient group in Germany. Even though chances of survival are good these days due to medical progress, many families are still confronted with this issue.
The idea of lighting up individual buildings (Purple for Preemies) originally comes from the American organisation March of Dimes and it is growing in popularity. In addition to the BayArena, other buildings to be bathed in purple include the Empire State Building in New York, the castle in Heidelberg and the Bettenhochhaus ward tower block at the Charité hospital in Berlin.
The Klinikum Leverkusen hospital is also centre stage on World Prematurity Day. Former patients and their parents have been invited to the hospital grounds to meet up for a lantern procession under the motto of 'Purple for Preemies – Lila für Frühchen'. Players from the Bayer 04 Women's team will also be at the procession to raise awareness of the issue.
Klinikum Leverkusen is the main centre for the care of premature babies for the other hospitals and clinics in the city as well as in the Bergisches Land. With around 1,600 births per year it is one of the most experienced maternity hospitals in the region. 345 premature babies were treated there last year. Given the particularly high quality of care, the smallest preterm babies with a birthweight of 500 grammes or less survive. Bayer 04 has been involved in a partnership with the hospital for many years.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
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No points to start the league campaign: Bayer 04 lost 3-2 away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg in the first Bundesliga match of the 2026/27 campaign. Two quick-fire goals from Lukas Petkov (8’) and Cole Campbell (10’) gave the hosts an early lead, before David Mokwa scored the Saarland side’s third shortly after half-time (46’). In the closing stages, the Werkself rallied and staged a late comeback with goals from Patrik Schick (77’) and Christian Kofane (90+1’), but the Black and Reds were denied an equaliser.
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The Black and Reds kick off the new Bundesliga campaign today, Saturday 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg – and the Werkself will come up against a familiar face who is currently causing a stir at ‘Elv’. For an affordable and easy journey to the Saarland, the 1,600 travelling fans can still use the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Today’s matchday news..
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The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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