The consulting partner for growth, efficiency and strategic development in the sports business.

For over 13 years, Horstmann Consulting has been supporting clubs, associations, companies and other players in the sports industry in recognizing economic potential, preparing strategic decisions on a sound basis and effectively developing organizations.

What sets us apart:

Deep industry understanding in professional sports

Reliable analyses instead of generic concepts

Clear recommendations for action with concrete implementation links

Collaborative, confidential and direct partnership

We look forward to an initial exchange of ideas.

Strategy consulting for the sports business

Effective strategy

Explore services

We develop well-founded analyses, clear recommendations for action and pragmatic solutions with concrete implementation relevance.

Senior-led teams

The team

Our team combines operational experience in professional sports with consulting expertise, reliability and short communication channels.

Experience that carries

View references

Our mandates demonstrate how in-depth industry understanding and economic analysis lead to relevant results in the sports business.

Specialized expertise

Discover partners

For specific issues, we collaborate with selected partners and scale our teams to suit the mandate.

An efficient consulting approach for the sports business

Consulting

Business planning & business model development

We develop and refine business plans – from the initial idea to a sound basis for decision-making. In doing so, we analyze market potential, target groups, the competitive landscape, revenue models, and cost structures, and translate these into robust, scenario-based plans.

The focus is on realistic growth assumptions, economic viability, and concrete feasibility. This results not in a purely theoretical concept, but in a robust business plan that provides strategic guidance, makes economic potential transparent, and serves as a sound basis for entrepreneurial decisions and the successful implementation of growth and development strategies.

Organizational structure & efficiency

We support the further development of organizational structures, role and responsibility models, and efficient management logics. In doing so, we combine structural and operational organizational consulting with reporting and KPI systems that create transparency, enable comparability, and support well-founded decisions.

The focus is on clear responsibilities, efficient processes, relevant key performance indicators, realistic benchmarks, and a structured assessment of the status quo. This allows for the targeted evaluation, management, and further development of the competitiveness, efficiency, and economic performance of individual business units.

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The result is a sound organizational and control framework – standardized, transparent and focused on the relevant decision-making issues.

Revenue optimization B2B & B2C

We support the optimization of existing and new revenue potential – particularly in ticketing, merchandise, memberships, and sponsoring & hospitality. The goal is to better utilize and increase demand, to further develop offerings in a targeted manner, and to make economic potential visible.

In the B2C sector, the focus is on differentiated pricing and offering models, capacity management, and the systematic use and commercialization of fan and customer data.

In the B2B sector , we strategically and operationally optimize the rights portfolio – from pricing and rights structuring to new marketing rights and the evaluation of proprietary, third-party, or hybrid marketing models. Benchmarks and business plans provide a sound basis for decision-making and reveal short- and medium-term revenue potential.

Building on this foundation, we develop viable marketing and sales concepts for segments such as hospitality, status rights, digital rights, and other revenue streams. This results in tailored solutions that address key economic drivers and enable sustainable revenue growth.

Mentoring & Sparring

Management consulting & sparring

From developing medium-term success, business and liquidity plans to providing short-term support for urgent issues, we assist our clients in making financial and strategic decisions.

As a confidential sparring partner, we contribute industry knowledge, economic understanding and a clear outside perspective – directly, discreetly and on equal terms.

Strategic recruitment

We assist in filling selected leadership and key positions in sports. Together with our partner TP – Die Sportberatung , we handle mandates that require a high degree of discretion, industry expertise, and targeted direct approach.

From defining the profile and contacting suitable candidates to contract signing and onboarding, we design the entire process professionally, confidentially and with a clear focus.

Team

Horstmann Consulting is an owner-managed consulting firm specializing in the sports business. Our work is characterized by close relationships, transparency, and clear, trusting communication – both internally and externally.

Our team combines experience from professional sports with analytical consulting expertise, business acumen, and operational implementation experience. We deliberately work in small, senior-led teams: directly, efficiently, and closely attuned to the relevant decision-making issues of our clients.
Trust, reliability and diverse professional perspectives form the basis of our collaboration.

This is how pragmatic solutions, high quality standards and long-term partnerships are created in the sports business.

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Claus Horstmann >>>

Dr. Thomas Pröckl

Dr. Thomas Pröckl has been a partner at HORSTMANN Consulting since January 2021 and brings extensive experience in finance, human resources and business management.

Previously, he served as a board member and CFO of Eintracht Frankfurt Fußball AG from 2001 to 2012, and as managing director of SV Wehen Wiesbaden and the BRITA-Arena from 2015 to 2020. Between 2012 and 2015, he was managing director and CFO at Drooms . From 2019 to 2026, he also chaired the DFB 's remuneration committee. His profile combines financial expertise and operational leadership skills with extensive industry know-how – shaped by 16 years of experience in finance and restructuring, taxes, M&A, and investments, including 10 years in management positions and CFO roles.

Particularly in the area of personnel and organizational consulting, there is close cooperation between Horstmann Consulting and TP Sportconsulting .

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Claus Horstmann

Claus Horstmann founded HORSTMANN Strategy & Management Consulting in March 2013 and brings many years of leadership experience from sports, management and the leisure industry to the consulting business.

From November 1999 to February 2013, he was Managing Director and Chairman of the Board of 1. FC Köln . He also served as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of VfL Handball Gummersbach GmbH from September 2007 to December 2010. Prior to that, from July 1994 to October 1999, he was General Manager and Managing Director of Center Parcs GmbH & Co. KG .

His work combines strategic vision, economic understanding and operational leadership experience – shaped by responsible positions in organizations with high public visibility.

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In the Spotlight for the First Time: 2. Bundesliga 2025/26 Performance Report

With the 2. Bundesliga 2025/26 Performance Report, we analyze for the first time what constitutes successful club performance in Germany’s second-highest division. The league brings together a diverse range of clubs: long-established traditional clubs, ambitious newly promoted teams, and clubs with significantly smaller market and reach potential. The Performance Score shows which clubs are particularly successful at leveraging their potential and where differences emerge

Reports

Sep 201 min read

Performance Score Report Bundesliga 2025/26

One Year Later: Bundesliga 2025/26 Performance Report

The factors driving success in soccer continue to evolve—and with them, the demands placed on clubs. On-field success alone is not enough: The ability to engage fans, strong marketing structures, financial stability, and sustainable growth prospects are also crucial. With the second edition of our 2025/26 Bundesliga Performance Report, we continue our data-driven analysis of the 18 Bundesliga clubs. Our refined scoring model shows how the clubs have changed year-over-year and

Aug 31 min read

Reporting & KPI Management in Professional Football - Between Complexity and Strategic Necessity

Reporting and KPIs are becoming increasingly important in professional football—not only to ensure financial stability, but also to identify and unlock new monetization opportunities. However, many clubs still operate with fragmented structures and fail to fully leverage their potential. In our latest blog article, we examine the current status quo, outline the key challenges, and highlight initial approaches for how professional reporting and clearly defined KPIs can serve

Jun 183 min read

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All reports & blogs

In the Spotlight for the First Time: 2. Bundesliga 2025/26 Performance Report

With the 2. Bundesliga 2025/26 Performance Report, we analyze for the first time what constitutes successful club performance in Germany’s second-highest division. The league brings together a diverse range of clubs: long-established traditional clubs, ambitious newly promoted teams, and clubs with significantly smaller market and reach potential. The Performance Score shows which clubs are particularly successful at leveraging their potential and where differences emerge

Reports

One Year Later: Bundesliga 2025/26 Performance Report

The factors driving success in soccer continue to evolve—and with them, the demands placed on clubs. On-field success alone is not enough: The ability to engage fans, strong marketing structures, financial stability, and sustainable growth prospects are also crucial. With the second edition of our 2025/26 Bundesliga Performance Report, we continue our data-driven analysis of the 18 Bundesliga clubs. Our refined scoring model shows how the clubs have changed year-over-year and

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Relevant topics for decision-makers in the sports business

In our blogs, we address current developments, new trends, and strategic issues in the sports industry. Our reports go a step further: Based on our extensive database, we create data-driven analyses, benchmarks, scores, and classifications on selected topics in the sports business.
This results in different formats with a common goal: well-founded perspectives for clubs, associations, companies and other players in the sports industry.

Current articles and new reports can be obtained directly via our newsletter.

Collaboration with satisfied customers

“ Entering the German market is an exciting challenge for our entire organization. We are pleased to be able to draw on the expertise of HORSTMANN Consulting for key components.”

Dr. Alexander Steinforth
Managing Director,
NFL Germany

"In view of the increasing relevance of merchandising revenues in professional football, HORSTMANN Consulting advised VfB Stuttgart with a high level of expertise and a structured approach. The analysis, including benchmarking, provided valuable insights and concrete recommendations for increasing revenue and contribution margin , as well as strengthening the competitive position."

Alexander Kästle

Head of Ticketing & Merchandising, VfB Stuttgart

" Self-marketing has proven to be the right decision from an economic, organizational, and communicative perspective. The increased customer proximity strengthens our growth sustainably. HORSTMANN Consulting provided us with convincing support throughout this process, demonstrating a high level of professional expertise and a clear understanding of our market potential ."

The consulting partner for growth, efficiency and strategic development in the sports business.

For over 13 years, Horstmann Consulting has been supporting clubs, associations, companies and other players in the sports industry in recognizing economic potential, preparing strategic decisions on a sound basis and effectively developing organizations. What sets us apart:

Deep industry understanding in professional sports

Reliable analyses instead of generic concepts

Clear recommendations for action with concrete implementation links

Collaborative, confidential and direct partnership

Strategy consulting for the sports business

Effective strategy

We develop well-founded analyses, clear recommendations for action and pragmatic solutions with concrete implementation relevance.

Senior-led teams

Our team combines operational experience in professional sports with consulting expertise, reliability and short communication channels.

Experience that carries

Our mandates demonstrate how in-depth industry understanding and economic analysis lead to relevant results in the sports business.

Specialized expertise

For specific issues, we collaborate with selected partners and scale our teams to suit the mandate.

​

An efficient consulting approach for the sports business

Consulting

Business planning & business model development

We develop and refine business plans – from the initial idea to a sound basis for decision-making. In doing so, we analyze market potential, target groups, the competitive landscape, revenue models, and cost structures, and translate these into robust, scenario-based plans.

Mentoring & Sparring

Management consulting & sparring

Team

Claus Horstmann >>>

In the Spotlight for the First Time: 2. Bundesliga 2025/26 Performance Report

One Year Later: Bundesliga 2025/26 Performance Report

Reporting & KPI Management in Professional Football - Between Complexity and Strategic Necessity

In the Spotlight for the First Time: 2. Bundesliga 2025/26 Performance Report

One Year Later: Bundesliga 2025/26 Performance Report

Relevant topics for decision-makers in the sports business

Collaboration with satisfied customers

“ Entering the German market is an exciting challenge for our entire organization. We are pleased to be able to draw on the expertise of HORSTMANN Consulting for key components.”

Dr. Alexander Steinforth Managing Director, NFL Germany

Alexander Kästle Head of Ticketing & Merchandising, VfB Stuttgart

Niels Rossow Commercial Director, 1. FC Nürnberg

A strong partner network

Address

Justinianstraße 16

50679 Cologne

Connect

info@horstmann-consulting.de

Careers

Apply to join our team!

For over 13 years, Horstmann Consulting has been supporting clubs, associations, companies and other players in the sports industry in recognizing economic potential, preparing strategic decisions on a sound basis and effectively developing organizations.

What sets us apart:

Dr. Alexander Steinforth
Managing Director,
NFL Germany

Alexander Kästle

Head of Ticketing & Merchandising, VfB Stuttgart

Niels Rossow

Commercial Director,
1. FC Nürnberg