Sponsoring national

2006 FIFA World Cup bid

In their efforts to secure the 2006 Soccer World Cup for Germany, the German Football Association (DFB) did not rely solely on "Kaiser" Franz Beckenbauer. Bayer AG was one of eight large German companies that were also involved in backing the DFB's bid to stage the tournament. Starting in 1999, the DFB and its partners embarked on an extensive advertising campaign that continued until the host country was chosen in July 2000.

Image: Rudi Völler

Two TV spots and various advertisements were run with the aim of generating public enthusiasm for staging the World Cup in Germany.

One such advertising campaign, devised by Bayer's Sports Advertising department, was launched in March 1999 and featured the three members of the then managerial team at Bundesliga club Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The advertising motif showing Bayer 04 Sporting Director Rudi Völler can be seen on the right as an example.

In view of the fact that the BayArena has a capacity of only 22,500, Bayer and the Leverkusen town council withdrew their bid to stage matches during the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. During the World the Republic of Korea used the BayArena and the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion as training facilities.

Bayer Sport (Textversion)

2006 FIFA World Cup bid