Bayer 04 Leverkusen is a professional German football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The organisation traces its origins to 1 July 1904, when the “Turn- und Spielverein der Farbenfabriken vorm. Friedrich Bayer & Co.” was founded. The football department was established in 1907 and subsequently developed into the professional football organisation known today as Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The club has played in Germany's Bundesliga continuously since earning promotion in 1979. 

Bayer 04 plays its home matches at the BayArena, located on Bismarckstraße in Leverkusen. The professional football operation is organised as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH. The club's official organisation page identifies a professional management structure covering sporting operations, finance, personnel, IT, marketing, communications, legal affairs, medical operations and match operations. The official headquarters are at BayArena, Bismarckstr. 122–124, 51373 Leverkusen. 

The club has developed a significant sporting history in German and European football. Bayer 04 won the UEFA Cup in 1988 and the DFB-Pokal in 1993. Its most notable domestic achievement came in the 2023/24 season, when it won the German championship and DFB-Pokal to complete the first domestic double in its history. The club has also established a long-standing presence in European competitions and has competed at the highest level of German football for more than four decades. 

Player development is an important part of Bayer 04's football structure. The club operates youth-development programmes and continues to invest in facilities designed to strengthen its pathway for young athletes. In 2026, construction began on a new House of Talents in Leverkusen, planned to provide accommodation and educational support for 36 young athletes from summer 2027. 

Bayer 04 also maintains extensive media, commercial and community operations. Its digital channels reach a large international audience, while its professional workforce covers sporting, administrative and commercial functions. LinkedIn currently places the club in the 201–500 employee category, while the club itself states that more than 500 people currently work for Bayer 04 Leverkusen.