Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing)
SPORTFIVE is a privately held global sports marketing agency that brokers sponsorship deals, media rights, athlete representation, and VIP hospitality for brands and sports rightsholders across 60+ offices in 20+ countries, supported by a proprietary CRM of 490,000+ brand contacts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1987
- HeadquartersBoulogne-billancourt, France
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) does
SPORTFIVE is a privately held global sports marketing agency operating under the German holding entity SPORTFIVE Global Holding GmbH, with principal headquarters in Hamburg, Germany and a historical operating presence dating back over 20 years. The firm runs 60+ offices across more than 20 countries and employs a headcount in the 251-500 range, anchored by 410 national premium sales experts embedded directly inside the offices of sports rightsholders such as Borussia Dortmund, Olympique Lyonnais, Stade Français Paris, and the NBA. Its commercial platform serves two complementary customer sets: global brands seeking sports-led marketing solutions (EA SPORTS, DHL, Adidas, Polestar, Xylem, Adobe, Bank of America) and sports rightsholders seeking to commercialize media rights, sponsorships, and hospitality (NBA, BVB, DFB, ICC, Panam Sports, McLaren Racing, Liga Portugal Betclic).
The agency's core technology stack combines a proprietary SPORTFIVE Global CRM with 490,000+ brand contacts that powers data-driven sponsorship sales, alongside Virtual Board Replacement (VBR) perimeter advertising technology and next-generation 6mm pixel pitch AI-enabled LED perimeter systems deployed across Bundesliga, UEFA EURO 2024, NBA, and NHL broadcasts. The offering is organized as a platform-plus-modules architecture: the core agency services sponsorship brokerage, media rights commercialization, brand consulting, and content production, while sub-brands OFFICIAL VIP (hospitality e-commerce), Build a Rocket (esports and gaming agency), Team Copa, Event Knowledge Service / EKS (Lausanne-based data services), and projectFIVE (athlete management, launched in 2025 with Marc Kosicke) extend the surface area into adjacent verticals.
Revenue is generated through five primary streams: media rights commissions (Liga Portugal Betclic, Pan American Games, Longines Global Champions Tour, ICC), sponsorship and partnership brokerage fees, VIP hospitality and ticket transactions via OFFICIAL VIP, athlete representation via projectFIVE, and branded content and event activation services. Pricing is custom and quote-based for brand and rightsholder engagements, while VIP hospitality is unit-priced per event. The GTM motion is enterprise field sales (410 embedded experts plus a global sales network), supplemented by direct-to-consumer e-commerce (OFFICIAL VIP) and channel partnerships with agencies of record for specific regional deals.
Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing)
- Legal name
- SPORTFIVE Global Holding GmbH
- Website
- https://sportfive.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1987
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- SPORTFIVE is a privately held global sports marketing agency that brokers sponsorship deals, media rights, athlete representation, and VIP hospitality for brands and sports rightsholders across 60+ offices in 20+ countries, supported by a proprietary CRM of 490,000+ brand contacts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Sports Marketing Services
- NAICS
- Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events (7113)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sponsorship Sales, Valuation & Analytics Services (Rights Sales, Measurement, Consulting) (MPAKALAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Athlete & Talent Representation (Agents, Managers) (MPAKAKAA), Sports Event Promotion & Tournament Operations (MPAKAKAC)
Keywords
Where Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boulogne-billancourt
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices14 records
Markets served
Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Media Rights Commercialisation: Sportfive acts as exclusive global media rights sales agent, commercialising and distributing broadcast rights on behalf of rights-holders (e.g., Liga Portugal Betclic, Pan American Games, Longines Global Champions Tour, ICC). Revenue is generated via sales commissions and distribution fees on rights deals.
- Sponsorship & Partnership Brokerage: Core revenue stream where Sportfive brokers and structures sponsorship deals between brands and rightsholders, charging agency commissions / fees on long-term partnerships (shirt, sleeve, training wear, naming rights, etc.).
- VIP Hospitality & Ticket Sales: Revenue generated via OFFICIAL VIP e-commerce platform selling official hospitality packages, VIP sports tickets, business seats, corporate hospitality, and luxury sports travel experiences to brands and individuals.
- Athlete Management / Representation: Revenue from projectFIVE athlete career management and representation services including branding and post-career planning.
- Branded Content & Event Activation Services: Revenue from producing and monetising content, events, hospitality experiences and brand activations (e.g., OMR Rooftop Session, BatFast fan park activations, Samsung x Minecraft TubNet).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | — | Custom / quote-based for brands and rightsholders |
| Unit Pricing | — | VIP / Hospitality packages per event |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sportfive is a global sports marketing agency that brokers and commercializes sponsorship deals, media rights, athlete endorsements, and premium hospitality experiences between brands and sports rightsholders (clubs, leagues, federations, athletes). Operating across 60+ offices in 20+ countries, it delivers end-to-end services including sponsorship sales and activation, media rights distribution, athlete career management, branded content production, and VIP hospitality via its OFFICIAL VIP e-commerce platform.
Product overview
SPORTFIVE is a global sports marketing agency operating a platform-plus-modules architecture rather than a single unified product. Its core offering combines sponsorship sales and activation, media rights commercialization, brand consulting, and original content creation for brands, rightsholders, media platforms, and fans. This core platform is extended by several named sub-brands and service modules: OFFICIAL VIP (the e-commerce hospitality platform), Build a Rocket (esports agency), Team Copa, Event Knowledge Service / EKS (data services out of Lausanne), and projectFIVE (athlete management). Specialized service lines include SPORTFIVE VIP Tickets & Hospitality (curated VIP access and bespoke corporate packages) and proprietary research whitepapers such as Cricket Reborn, Soccer Fandom in the US, and The Rise of Women's Football, which feed insights back into the agency's commercial offering. SPORTFIVE also represents specific properties it has helped commercialize, exemplified by the International Masters League founding partnership. The portfolio spans football, golf, motorsports, rugby, handball, basketball, esports, cricket, sailing, tennis, cycling, and Olympic multi-sport events across 60+ offices in 20+ countries.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Build a Rocket: Esports marketing agency positioned as 'A SPORTFIVE Company', based in Cologne, Germany.
- Event Knowledge Service (EKS)
- Team Copa
- OFFICIAL VIP
Products and services
- Sportfive Global Sports Marketing Agency Services End-to-end global sports marketing services including sponsorship brokerage, media rights commercialization, brand consulting, athlete representation, VIP hospitality, and original content creation for enterprise brands, sports rightsholders, media platforms, and fans across 20+ countries and 60+ offices.
- OFFICIAL VIP Hospitality Platform E-commerce platform providing direct purchase or request of premium hospitality tickets, VIP sports tickets, corporate event access, and bespoke luxury sports travel across Football, F1, Wimbledon, NBA, Cricket, and Rugby events worldwide.
- Build a Rocket Esports Agency Specialized esports marketing agency providing sponsorship, partnership, and brand activation services for brands entering the gaming ecosystem, including platform-specific strategy for Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft.
- Event Knowledge Service (EKS) Knowledge and data services platform supporting event intelligence for sports rights and partnerships, operating from Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Team Copa Sub-brand of Sportfive listed on the official website navigation.
- projectFIVE Athlete Management Comprehensive athlete career management, branding, and post-career planning service for athletes, coaches, and personalities, delivered in partnership with Marc Kosicke.
Quantifiable outcome
- 1 billion brand interactions worldwide (Xylem x City Football Group partnership)
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing)
Customer profileNamed customers67 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- Corpay Cross-BordercoreCorpay Cross-Border entered partnership with Toulouse FC as Official Foreign Exchange Supplier, providing FX risk management and cross-border payment solutions. The deal was facilitated by SPORTFIVE as sports marketing agency and marks Corpay's expansion into French professional football (Ligue 1).
- Liga Portugal Betclic / Sport TVcoreSPORTFIVE renewed and expanded partnership with Sport TV to represent Liga Portugal Betclic's international media rights for the 2026/27 and 2027/28 seasons, covering all markets outside Portugal with limited territorial exceptions under a global distribution model.
- Panam Sports (Pan American Sports Organization)flagshipPanam Sports and SPORTFIVE signed an agreement making SPORTFIVE the exclusive global media rights partner for the Pan American Games in Lima 2027 and Asunción 2031. SPORTFIVE will manage and commercialize global media rights for both editions, focusing on visibility, engagement and value across the Americas and global broadcast/digital platforms. Signed in Santiago, Chile.
- DHL GroupflagshipDHL Group named Major Partner of Stade Français Paris through 2029 - first time DHL partnered with a French sports team. DHL branding appears on the front of Stade Français' jersey in TOP 14 and European Cup matches, while DHL Express France supports transport of sports equipment. Deal facilitated by SPORTFIVE.
- McLaren Racing & Hedera FoundationflagshipMcLaren Racing announced multi-year partnership with Hedera Foundation to leverage distributed ledger for Web3 fan engagement experiences; digital collectibles during F1 Grand Prix and Arrow McLaren IndyCar events; Hedera branding on race cars and driver suits. SPORTFIVE brokered the deal and continues to advise on partnership strategy.
- Gen.G EsportscoreMulti-year strategic alliance making SPORTFIVE Gen.G's lead commercial representative to develop international business and manage sponsorship engagements. SPORTFIVE markets all of Gen.G's commercial rights across South Korea, the US, and China.
- Polestar & Borussia DortmundflagshipThree-year partnership making Polestar Borussia Dortmund's official mobility partner and exclusive sleeve sponsor through the 2027-28 season; Polestar supplies 60 EVs to players, coaches and executives. Deal brokered by SPORTFIVE, positioning Germany as a key market in Polestar's European growth strategy.
- CELSIUS & Arthur FilscoreCELSIUS announced exclusive partnership with Arthur Fils (France's top-ranked tennis player) during Roland-Garros 2025 facilitated by SPORTFIVE. CELSIUS branding appears on Arthur Fils' sleeve, accompanied by digital content and fan activations - CELSIUS's first French ambassador.
- DAZN & Longines Global Champions Tour / GCLflagshipDAZN secured multi-territory broadcast rights to the 2025 Longines Global Champions Tour and GCL in a deal facilitated by SPORTFIVE. All Grand Prix and team competitions streamed live and free across DAZN's global markets; SPORTFIVE was appointed in 2024 as global media rights agency for the tour.
- Marc Kosicke (projectFIVE)coreSPORTFIVE launched projectFIVE in partnership with Marc Kosicke to provide comprehensive career management, branding and post-career planning services for athletes, coaches and personalities. Initiative aims to expand into Asian and North American markets and set new standards in athlete representation globally.
- BatFast & ICC (ICC T20 World Cup 2024)minorBatFast delivered cricket simulator activation at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 Fan Park at the Oculus World Trade Center in New York City, in partnership with SportFive representing the ICC. Over 4,000 fans used the simulators across 13 days, with 25% under 16, generating over 9 million social media views featuring South African cricketer Dale Steyn.
- On Location (FIFA World Cup 2026)flagshipSPORTFIVE has been appointed as the exclusive sales agent of On Location in Germany and Austria for distribution of the official hospitality programme of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
- EA SPORTS (EA SPORTS FC)flagshipSPORTFIVE brokered the launch of EA SPORTS FC in partnership with Uber Eats, providing brand consulting and partnership strategy for the world's biggest football game.
- Bundesliga (DFL)coreSPORTFIVE delivers Virtual Board Replacement (VBR) perimeter advertising technology deployed across Bundesliga broadcasts and referenced alongside UEFA EURO 2024, NBA and NHL rollouts.
- Spotify (Creator Kickoff)minorSPORTFIVE partnership with Spotify on a Creator Kickoff activation referenced as a success story.
- Airwell (Stade Français Paris)minorAirwell became main partner of Stade Français Paris (rugby) facilitated by SPORTFIVE; referenced in rightsholder portfolio.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- CSM Sport & Entertainment (Chime Group): CSM, part of Chime Communications, is a global sport and entertainment agency providing sponsorship, athlete management, brand activation and content services. Directly comparable in client mix (global brands, federations, leagues) and service portfolio to Sportfive.
- Havas Sports & Entertainment: Havas Sports & Entertainment is the global sports marketing arm of Havas, offering sponsorship, content and experiential services. Direct peer to Sportfive given the shared agency heritage (former Lagardère Sports sister division) and overlapping brand and rightsholder client base.
- Wasserman (The Collective): Wasserman is a global sports, music and entertainment agency offering athlete representation, sponsorship sales and brand consulting. Direct peer to Sportfive in athlete management (projectFIVE overlap) and brand-side sponsorship consulting for major global advertisers.
- Octagon: Octagon, part of Interpublic Group, is a global sports marketing agency offering sponsorship consulting, athlete management, and experiential marketing. Closest direct competitor to Sportfive's sponsorship brokerage, athlete representation and brand activation services for premium global brands.
- Infront Sports & Media: Infront, owned by Wanda Group, is a leading international sports marketing company with media-rights distribution, sponsorship sales and event management. Direct peer to Sportfive in media-rights commercialisation and winter/federation sport partnerships across Europe and Asia.
Emerging players
- Two Circles: Two Circles is a data-driven sports marketing agency serving rights-holders, brands and broadcasters with audience insights and sponsorship sales. Overlaps with Sportfive's data-led sponsorship sales motion and CRM-driven approach, but smaller and more analytics-led.
Broad incumbents
- IMG (Endeavor): IMG, part of Endeavor/TKO Group, is the world's largest sports marketing and events agency with global rights representation, athlete management, and licensing. Directly comparable to Sportfive in sponsorship brokerage, media-rights sales and athlete representation across global sports.
- Dentsu Sports (Dentsu Inc.): Dentsu Sports, part of Dentsu Group, is a Japanese-headquartered global sports marketing and sponsorship network. Overlaps with Sportfive in Asian sponsorship brokerage (e.g., Tokyo 2020 Olympics legacy work) and rights representation, though embedded within a much broader advertising holding group.
Regional players
- TEAM Marketing AG: TEAM Marketing, based in Switzerland, is a long-standing sports marketing agency best known for centralising UEFA Champions League media and sponsorship rights. Comparable in media-rights agency role for European football properties and overlapping client base with Sportfive.
- Mailman Group: Mailman Group is a leading digital sports marketing agency headquartered in China with operations across Asia. Comparable to Sportfive's Asia-Pacific offices and digital/esports activation capabilities via Build A Rocket, though primarily focused on Greater China.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) social profiles
Digital presenceSportfive (Active Sports Marketing) financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing)
What does Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) do?
Sportfive is a global sports marketing agency that brokers and commercializes sponsorship deals, media rights, athlete endorsements, and premium hospitality experiences between brands and sports rightsholders (clubs, leagues, federations, athletes). Operating across 60+ offices in 20+ countries, it delivers end-to-end services including sponsorship sales and activation, media rights distribution, athlete career management, branded content production, and VIP hospitality via its OFFICIAL VIP e-commerce platform.
Is Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) a public or private company?
Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) founded?
Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) was founded in 1987. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) based?
Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) is headquartered in Boulogne-billancourt, France, in the Europe region.
How does Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Media Rights Commercialisation is the primary driver. The others are sponsorship & Partnership Brokerage, VIP Hospitality & Ticket Sales, athlete Management / Representation and branded Content & Event Activation Services.
Who are Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing)'s main competitors?
Direct peers on record are CSM Sport & Entertainment (Chime Group), Havas Sports & Entertainment, Wasserman (The Collective), Octagon and Infront Sports & Media. Two Circles is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are IMG (Endeavor) and Dentsu Sports (Dentsu Inc.). Regional players are TEAM Marketing AG and Mailman Group.
Does Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing).
What industry is Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing) in?
Sportfive (Active Sports Marketing)'s product category is Sports Marketing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAKALAK, Sponsorship Sales, Valuation & Analytics Services (Rights Sales, Measurement, Consulting), with a secondary code of MPAKAKAA, Athlete & Talent Representation (Agents, Managers). Its NAICS code is 7113 and its SIC code is 7311.