Bayer and Sports

Whenever those with an interest in sports hear the name Bayer, they usually think immediately of the professional soccer team Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Yet the company's involvement in professional soccer in Germany is just one facet of Bayer's support for sports, which has a long tradition.
In 2004 the company celebrated 100 years of sports sponsorship, as the club we now know as TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen was founded in 1904. Just a few weeks after the centennial celebrations, Bayer athletes recorded numerous major successes. Of the 21 Bayer athletes who took part in the 2008 Olympic Games in Peking, China, one returned with a gold medal: fencer Britta Heidemann. To date, Bayer athletes have won a total of 61 Olympic medals

Thanks to the relationship between Bayer and Cha Bum-Kun who played for Bayer 04 Leverkusen during the 1980s, Bayer Korea has been contributing to society through activities related to sports. Since 2000, Bayer has been a steady supporter for Cha Bum-Kun’s youth football programs, thus making a great effort to expand the pool of young talent in South Korean football and to help young football talent realize dreams. Every year, Bayer organizes the Hanmaeum (One Mind) Football Competition where young talent of Cha Bum-Kun’s youth football program and children from low income families jointly take part. Established in 1990, Cha Bum-Kun’s youth football school is a one-of-a kind youth football club in South Korea. At present, more than 700 children are registered as members in Cha Bum-Kun’s youth football school. What is more, Bayer is making an effort to provide children from low socioeconomic backgrounds an opportunity to learn football free of charge.