Onside Sports

What Onside Sports does

Onside Sports GmbH is a Hamburg-based football services company that organizes training camps, friendly matches, pre-season tournaments, and international tours for professional football clubs across Europe's top leagues. Operating as an official partner to more than 40 professional clubs — including Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool FC, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, AC Milan, Inter Milan, AS Roma, and Paris Saint-Germain — the company runs year-round retainer relationships that span logistics, match brokerage, venue sourcing, and tour execution.

The company's operational backbone is a curated supply network rather than a software platform: an exclusive hotel network of 60+ partner properties concentrated in the Alpine region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) that contract exclusively with Onside for professional team hosting; a venue network built on amateur football clubs across DACH, Spain, and Turkey that provide professional-standard training pitches; and an in-house greenkeeping team (acquired via Austrian agency Play-Line) for pitch preparation. Core service lines include Training Camps Organization, Friendly Match Mediation, Pre-Season Tournaments, International Strategy (tours), Media & Marketing Rights, Onside Travel (delivered through a joint venture with H-Hotels AG), and year-round club support.

Revenue is generated primarily through fixed annual retainers with official-partner clubs, supplemented by project-based fees for individual training camps, tournament organization, and tour execution. The company has pursued an aggressive consolidation strategy, acquiring SLFC (Salzburger Land Fußball Camp GmbH) and Play-Line in 2024, integrating Global Sports by imFocus GmbH under the Onside Sports brand in 2024, and acquiring Match IQ GmbH effective April 7, 2025.

Name

Onside Sports

Legal name

Onside Sports GmbH

Website

https://onside.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Onside Sports is a Hamburg-based football services company that organizes training camps, friendly matches, pre-season tournaments, and international tours for over 40 professional football clubs across Europe's top leagues through annual retainer partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

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. Club Partnership Retainers: Annual retainer contracts with professional football clubs for year-round support including training camps, friendly matches, and international services
2. Training Camp Organization: Organization and execution of professional football training camps including venue selection, accommodation, logistics, and pitch preparation
3. Friendly Match Organization: Mediation and organization of test matches across all categories between professional football clubs
4. Pre-Season Tournament Creation: Creation and organization of high-class pre-season tournaments for professional teams
5. International Tours: Realization of international tours worldwide including logistics, match arrangements, and travel services
6. Media and Marketing Rights: Content creation, production and distribution including exclusive sponsorship proposals for brands
7. Onside Travel Services: Holistic travel services for professional football teams including transportation and accommodation

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Onside Sports is a Hamburg-based football services company that organizes professional football training camps, friendly matches, pre-season tournaments, and international tours for professional football clubs, national associations, and corporate partners. The firm provides year-round operational, logistical, and strategic support to elite-level football organizations, supported by an exclusive partner network and complementary offerings through acquisitions (Match IQ GmbH, Play-Line, SLFC) and the Onside Travel joint venture with H-Hotels.com.

Product overview

Onside Sports operates as a comprehensive football sports packages provider offering integrated services for professional football clubs. The core offerings include Training Camps Organization, Friendly Matches Organization, Pre-Season Tournaments, International Strategy, Media & Marketing Rights, and Onside Travel. Additional services such as Greenkeeping Services (acquired through Play-Line) and Year-Round Club Support are offered as add-on modules. The company serves as official partner to over 40 professional clubs across European top leagues, providing end-to-end sports event management from venue selection through execution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• onside travel by H-Hotels.com: Football travel services joint venture with H-Hotels AG

Products and services

• Professional Training Camps End-to-end organization of professional football training camps for clubs, national teams, and corporate partners, covering venue selection, scheduling, accommodation, and full on-site logistics.
• Friendly Match Organization Coordination of friendly matches between professional football clubs, including opponent matching, venue scheduling, and logistical support.
• Pre-Season Tournaments End-to-end organization of pre-season tournament events for professional football clubs and federations.
• International Tours Strategic international tour planning for clubs and national teams, including multi-match itineraries and on-tour operational support.
• Onside Travel Integrated football travel services offered via a joint venture with H-Hotels.com, providing travel and accommodation support for clubs and delegations.
• Year-Round Club Support (Retainer Service) Ongoing retainer-based operational and strategic support to professional football clubs across the calendar, beyond single-event engagements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 500 training camps, friendly matches and tournaments organized in last two years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

28 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Borussia DortmundflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2018Official partner since August 2018 for training camps and friendly matches. Partnership extended multiple times, currently running until end of season 2027/28. Onside organizes all off-season activities including pre-season camps and international tours.
• Borussia MönchengladbachcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner for training camps, friendly matches, and internationalization. Partnership extended long-term until 2027.
• 1. FC KölncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner for training camps and friendly matches. Partnership extended until 2028 for internationalization and friendly matches.
• FC Schalke 04coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner for training camps and friendly matches. Partnership extended until June 2027.
• VfB StuttgartcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner for training camps and friendly matches.
• Liverpool FCflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSummer training camp organization and friendly match arrangements in Germany. Long-standing relationship with Jürgen Klopp's management.
• Real MadridflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerOnside organized Real Madrid's only test match in Europe against WSG Tirol at Tivoli Stadion Innsbruck. Club returning to Wörthersee for matches.
• TSG HoffenheimcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner until at least 2027 for training camps and friendly matches in Kitzbühel.
• English National TeamflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBase camp organization for Euro 2024 tournament in Germany alongside Spanish national team.
• Spanish National TeamflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBase camp organization for Euro 2024 at exclusive partner hotel Der Öschberghof, coordinated with Marbella Football Center.
• H-Hotels GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership creating 'onside travel by H-Hotels.com' brand for football travel services.
• Marbella Football CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExclusive cooperation extended for at least 4 more years for training camp facilities in Spain.
• Match IQ GmbHflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcquisition effective April 7, 2025 expanding Onside's market position in training camp and friendly match organization.
• Salzburger Land Fußball Camp GmbH (SLFC)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner100% acquisition of SLFC combining the two largest agencies in training camp and friendly match sector.
• Play-Line (Greenkeeping Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcquisition of Austrian greenkeeping agency adding professional pitch maintenance and turf management to portfolio.
• Deutsche Telekom / MagentaSportcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerJoint organization of Telekom Cup and other basketball events including MagentaSport Cup 2023.
• InterwettencoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSports betting provider partnered with Borussia Mönchengladbach as co-sponsor, with Onside involvement in partnership brokering.
• FC KopenhagencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner for training camps and friendly matches.
• Feyenoord RotterdamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner for training camps and friendly matches.
• Hamburger SVcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner for training camps and friendly matches, including US tour to California.
• SK RapidcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew official partner since December 2024 for training camp and friendly match organization.
• 1. FC NürnbergcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner for training camps and friendly matches, partnership extended for two years.
• VfL BochumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner for exclusive training camps and friendly matches.
• Hannover 96coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner with extended cooperation for pre-season organization.
• Fortuna DüsseldorfcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner with extended long-term partnership for pre-season organization.
• Górnik ZabrzeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPre-season training camp organization for third consecutive year, with Lukas Podolski involvement.
• FC Twente EnschedecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner for training camps and friendly matches.
• SC HeerenveencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner for training camps and friendly matches.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SLFC (Salzburger Land Fußball Camp GmbH): SLFC was the largest Austrian training camp and friendly match agency, described in Onside's own announcement as one of the two largest agencies in the segment. It is a direct peer acquired in 2024 and now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Onside Sports.
• Marbella Football Center: Marbella Football Center is a Spanish football training facility that hosts professional team training camps and is an Onside partner. It is directly comparable as a provider of training camp infrastructure in southern Europe, addressing the same premium-club customer base.
• Match IQ GmbH: Match IQ was the principal German competitor in the test match and training camp organization segment before being acquired by Onside effective April 7, 2025. It is a direct peer in the same niche and now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary.

Broad incumbents

• Octagon: Octagon is a global sports marketing agency offering sponsorship consulting, athlete management, and event services. As a broad incumbent, it operates at larger scale and across multiple sports but overlaps with Onside in football event and brand activation work.
• Lagardère Sports & Entertainment: Lagardère Sports is a major European sports marketing agency handling rights distribution, sponsorship sales, and event operations. It is a broad incumbent with comparable B2B football services, though with a much larger and more diversified portfolio.
• IMG (Endeavor): IMG is a global sports and entertainment company providing licensing, events, hospitality, and representation services. It is a broad incumbent in sports services comparable to Onside's positioning, with overlap in event operations and rights management for European football.
• Wasserman: Wasserman is a global sports marketing, talent management, and consulting agency. As a broad incumbent, it serves many of the same types of sports organizations as Onside and competes for football-related sponsorship and event budgets, though at much larger scale.
• Sportfive: Sportfive is a global sports marketing and media rights agency headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. While far broader than Onside, it competes in the same DACH sports services ecosystem and has comparable B2B relationships with European football clubs and federations.

Others

• H-Hotels.com: H-Hotels is a German hotel group operating the joint venture 'onside travel by H-Hotels.com' with Onside for football team travel services. It is a supplier and JV partner rather than a competitor, but materially relevant as part of Onside's travel infrastructure ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/onsidesports
• Instagraminstagram.com/_onside_sports

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries4 records

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 Onside Sports