I've sat in your seat.
A leadership partner for club presidents and owners — built from inside the football world, not outside it.
Why Ustruck Sports Group exists
Most consultants arrive with a deck. I arrive with the scars.
For more than a decade, I've worked inside professional clubs — through ownership transitions, coaching changes, league expansions, and the daily complexity of running a football organization. I know what it feels like when a season is slipping, when a transfer window is closing, when the board is asking hard questions and the answers aren't simple.
Ustruck Sports Group exists for the leaders carrying that weight. We're not a strategy firm pretending to understand football. We're former club operators who've made the calls, lived with the consequences, and know what it takes to build something that lasts.
Pitchside at the 2015 Orlando City SC home opener with majority owner Flávio Augusto da Silva (right) and club president Phil Rawlins (left).
About Erik Ustruck
I'm the founder of Ustruck Sports Group, and I've spent my career on the inside of professional football — first as a player, then as a club executive, and now as a partner to the leaders shaping the future of the game.
My executive career began at Orlando City SC, where, over eight years as Director of Soccer Operations, I oversaw an $18M sporting budget across four business units, managed Kaká's transition into and out of the club, and helped guide the organization through expansion, a merger, and two acquisitions as it rose to a $500M valuation. During that time, I also served on the MLS Sporting Committee, contributing to league-wide initiatives in youth development, expansion, and competitive structure.
In 2018, I became General Manager of Orlando Pride, leading a cultural turnaround that earned "Central Florida Top Workplace" recognition and a 150% increase in the operating budget. I returned in 2022 as interim GM to lead a full sporting transformation — hiring Head Coach Seb Hines (named 2024 NWSL Coach of the Year) and laying the groundwork for the club's record-breaking 2024 NWSL Shield and Championship double.
Most recently, I served as Interim GM at the Houston Dash, where I negotiated the sale of Tarciane Karen dos Santos to Olympique Lyonnais — at the time, the second-highest transfer fee in the history of global women's football, set just two weeks after the record itself. Today, I continue as a sporting advisor to the Dash and partner with presidents and owners across MLS, NWSL, and global football to build organizations that perform on and off the field.
Before the front office
Before the executive work, I played professionally for seven years and won an MLS Cup with the Houston Dynamo. That experience shapes everything I do now. It's why I know what players need to hear from leadership, what coaches feel when a club is misaligned, and why decisions made in boardrooms ripple through locker rooms.
The relationships I built as a player — across MLS, NWSL, and the global game — remain central to how USG operates today.
How I work
I work confidentially, and only with leadership.
My clients are presidents and owners. The work is sensitive, the conversations are direct, and discretion is non-negotiable.
I prioritize people before frameworks.
Strategy decks don't transform clubs. People do. I focus on the human side of leadership — alignment, trust, culture — because that's where sustained performance actually comes from.
I bring real-world football fluency.
I don't translate from corporate to sport. I speak the language of the club because I've lived it — from academy operations to first-team transitions to ownership-level strategy.
I stay close, not just at the start.
The most valuable advisory work happens in the moments that matter — a transfer deadline, a leadership transition, a board conversation. I'm built to be reachable when those moments come.
Let's talk.
If you're carrying the weight of a club through a period of change, transition, or growth — and you'd value a partner who's been inside the walls — I'd welcome the conversation.