Bayer 04 Leverkusen will begin its 2013-14 1.Bundesliga season with the logo of a charitable organisation on its shirt, as the German football club continues to look for a new main sponsor.
Leverkusen, which finished third in the 1.Bundesliga last season, will take on SC Freiburg on Saturday with its shirt bearing the brand of German Bone Marrow Donor Database (DKMS).
The club said its first two match days will provide a platform for the DKMS campaign on the search for and identification of stem cell donors for people with leukaemia and other blood-related diseases. In addition to shirt sponsorship, DKMS will also be visible on camera carpets, videos, TV ads on the video walls at the BayArena, in Bayer 04 publications, as well as on internet and social media platforms.
“We consciously opted for DKMS because we wanted to draw attention to an important health issue,” Bayer 04 managing director Wolfgang Holzhäuser said. “The focus on health is close to our hearts as our parent company Bayer AG is renowned for being one of the leading global health care groups.”
Leverkusen is searching for a new shirt sponsor after SunPower concluded its partnership at the end of last season due to a change in “tax and economic conditions” for the solar sector in the European market.
The club had agreed a three-year contract with the American company, which manufactures high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, in the summer of 2011.
Holzhäuser added: “We have always said we’re on the lookout for a long-term and suitable shirt sponsor and we’re still involved in negotiations. So it’s only logical for us to look to have a shirt we can use for charity work until the contract negotiations have been completed.”