Spielmacher

What Spielmacher does

Spielmacher GmbH is a Hamburg-based sports business platform founded in 2017 that operates primarily as an annual conference business targeting senior executives in the European football and sports ecosystem. Its flagship offering, the Spielmacher Conference, is hosted annually in Cologne and brings together over 800 attendees, including representatives from FIFA, UEFA, DFB, Bundesliga, European Leagues, DFL, and major clubs such as FC Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal, LAFC, and LaLiga. The company is led by Managing Director Johannes Wilhelm Osthues and operates with a small team of 1-10 employees.

The company's product surface consists of four pillars: the annual Spielmacher Conference (the core product), an Events Platform for additional sports industry gatherings, a Sponsoring Platform that functions as a target-group sales channel for sports-related services and products, and a Business Network service for professional networking. There is no proprietary software platform, no APIs, and no mobile applications described in the source material; the company's deliverables are physical events plus associated sponsorship and networking services. The underlying technology is essentially event management and content curation, with partnerships providing technology and media amplification rather than core technical IP.

Revenue is generated through two principal streams: conference ticket sales (categorized as one-time licensing) and sponsorship/partnership revenue from sports-related companies seeking access to the senior sports executive audience (categorized as recurring). Specific pricing is not publicly disclosed, although the General Terms and Conditions reference paid admission with various ticket categories and a EUR 10 plus VAT name-change processing fee. The go-to-market motion is event-driven, relying on strategic partnerships with governing bodies and clubs for attendee acquisition, combined with direct ticket sales and email/digital marketing. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, or external capital partners.

Name

Spielmacher

Legal name

Spielmacher GmbH

Website

https://spielmacher.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Spielmacher is a Hamburg-based sports business platform that operates an annual conference in Cologne bringing together 800+ senior executives from European football clubs, leagues, and governing bodies, monetizing through ticket sales and sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Business Events

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry-Specific B2B Trade Show Organizers (THAHABAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sponsorship, Exhibitor & Partnership Management Services (THAHACAK)

Keywords

• Sports business conferences
• Football industry events
• Industry networking events
• Sports sponsorship events
• Business conference organization

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Conference Tickets: Revenue generated from paid attendance to the Spielmacher Conference events. Various ticket categories are offered with paid admission.
2. Sponsorship Platform: Spielmacher functions as a target group-relevant sales channel for sports-related services and products, generating sponsorship and partnership revenue from companies seeking access to the sports industry network.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Spielmacher organizes and runs the annual Spielmacher Conference in Cologne, a B2B industry event for the European football/soccer business that convenes 800+ attendees from clubs, federations, sponsors, agencies, and media. The offering centers on ticket sales, sponsorship packages, and partner activations tied to the flagship annual conference.

Product overview

Spielmacher is a sports business platform operating primarily as an event and conference business, not a software product company. Its core offerings consist of the Spielmacher Conference (an annual flagship event hosted in Cologne since 2017, bringing together over 800 sports industry leaders), supplemented by an Events Platform for industry gatherings, a Sponsoring Platform for connecting sports-related products and services with target audiences, and a Business Network service for professional networking. The company does not offer software products, APIs, or technology platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Spielmacher Conference Annual industry conference for senior commercial, partnership, and marketing leaders in European football, bringing together clubs, federations, sponsors, agencies, and media companies in Cologne.

Quantifiable outcome

• 800+ attendees per annual conference
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FIFAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFIFA is listed as a partner of Spielmacher Conference, indicating a strategic relationship in the sports business ecosystem. FIFA participates in and supports the conference as a major sports governing body partner.
• UEFAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUEFA is a partner of Spielmacher Conference, collaborating on sports industry content and networking. UEFA's involvement brings European football's governing body perspective to the conference.
• DFB (German Football Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDFB partners with Spielmacher as the German football governing body, contributing to content and industry dialogue at the annual conference.
• BundesligacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBundesliga is a partner organization, bringing the German top football league perspective to Spielmacher Conference programming and attendance.
• FC Bayern MunichcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFC Bayern Munich participates as a partner club, with executives speaking at and attending the Spielmacher Conference as part of the European sports business network.
• Borussia Dortmund (BVB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBVB is listed as a partner, with club representatives participating in conference programming and networking activities.
• kickerminorGTM or Marketing Partnerkicker, the German sports magazine, is a media partner providing coverage and marketing support for Spielmacher events.
• European LeaguescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Leagues is listed as a partner, representing European football leagues in the Spielmacher ecosystem.
• ArsenalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArsenal FC appears as a partner club in the Spielmacher network.
• LAFC (Los Angeles Football Club)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLos Angeles Football Club participates as a partner, with Rich Orosco (Executive VP Brand & Community) speaking at the conference.
• SportfiveminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSPORTFIVE, a sports marketing agency, is listed as a partner organization.
• DAZNminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDAZN streaming platform participates with Haruka Gruber from DAZN speaking at the conference.
• Sky GermanyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSky Germany participates as a media partner with Florian Plettenberg attending as a speaker.
• InfrontminorGTM or Marketing PartnerInfront, a sports media company, is listed as a partner organization.
• OctagonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOctagon, a sports and entertainment marketing agency, is listed as a partner.
• LaLigaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaLiga appears as a partner with Fabio Gallo (Former La Liga Tech) participating as a speaker.
• DFL (Deutsche Fußball Liga)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDFL (Deutsche Fußball Liga) participates with representatives including Steffen Merkel attending as speakers.
• StatistaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerStatista statistics platform is listed as a partner.
• EurosportminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEurosport is listed as a media partner.
• SID (Sport-Informations-Dienst)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSID sports news agency is listed as a partner.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• EuroFootballFinance Summit: Specialist European football finance and business conference covering club valuations, broadcasting rights and investment. Adjacent competitor targeting a subset of Spielmacher's financial and commercial attendees.
• The Football Industry: Niche football business content and events platform focused on the commercial side of European football. Smaller scale than Spielmacher but addresses the same club executives, agents and sponsor audience.
• Sports Tech World Series (STWS): Series of sports technology conferences bringing together clubs, leagues, federations and sports tech vendors. Overlaps with Spielmacher's sports technology and innovation content and competes for the same sponsor and speaker pool.

Broad incumbents

• SportBusiness Group: Established B2B sports business media and events company covering sponsorship, broadcasting, and governance with global editorial reach. Comparable in audience and sponsor base, but operates at significantly larger scale with year-round media alongside events.
• SportsPro Media: B2B sports industry publisher and event organizer covering technology, media and sponsorship across global sport. Overlapping audience with Spielmacher (clubs, leagues, federations, vendors) but with broader editorial scope and larger recurring event portfolio.

Direct peers

• SportsPro Live: SportsPro's annual flagship event covering the business of sport, OTT, broadcasting, sponsorship and technology. Direct competitor for senior sports business attendees and sponsors; backed by the SportsPro media brand.
• World Football Summit: International football business event organizer running WFS in Madrid and regional editions, focused on the football industry's commercial and innovation ecosystem. Targets the same clubs, federations and tech partners as Spielmacher.
• Leaders (Leaders in Sport): Operates Leaders Week, a major annual sports business conference (formerly Leaders in Sport) in London with similar attendee profile of club executives, federations and commercial partners. Comparable in scale and audience, and operates in the same European sports business events niche as Spielmacher.
• Soccerex: Long-standing global football business event organizer running flagship conferences and expos for the football industry. Direct competitor to Spielmacher Conference, targeting the same clubs, leagues, federations and sports business executives with similar B2B content and networking.

Others

• SPORTSFOB (Football Business Network): Sports business media and networking community serving football industry executives, agents and commercial professionals. Comparable audience and adjacent value proposition (networking, business development) without running a direct annual conference of Spielmacher's scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Spielmacher_DE

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Spielmacher