GettyImagesMainz's new stadium, the Coface Arena, has be key to their development

FSV Mainz 05 have succeeded where others have failed. This provincial Bundesliga club has seen a remarkable rise to prominence in the last decade that has firmly established their name in the top division.

Mainz - less than 45 minutes over the River Rhine from burgeoning Frankfurt - is a city with a similar population to that of Aberdeen and Northampton, but has regularly provided top-flight football for the locals in recent years. With only 15,000 members, the Carnival Club is one of the smallest clubs in the Bundesliga. In comparison, the likes of Cologne in the 2.Bundesliga have over 50,000 members.

Mainz's success has many caveats, but much praise must go to sporting director Christian Heidel who struck the correct balance between impressive moves in the transfer market and allowing the elite talents of their youth academy to flourish in the first-team. Next season, the club's home-grown defender, Jan Kirchhoff, will be wearing the red of FC Bayern, and hopes are high for dynamic German-American forward Shawn Parker. A fine strategy considering the starting eleven cost a paltry €2.2 million.

"Our management/manager did a very good job. That's probably the main reason." Christopher Blumlein, the club's chief financial officer, explained.

"We had a lot of good players who went to other clubs. We had to fill those spots when they left, so they have done a very good job. Especially the success to get into the first league was the biggest point of our success because the money you get in the Bundesliga, compared to the second league, is much more.

"This was the point we didn't put all the money we gained into the team, but into the club and the infrastructure, like our new stadium, which is the most modern stadium in Germany. We are very happy with the decisions we have made in the last few years. The stability of the board, who on average have been involved for many years, is helpful because they know what they are doing.

"Smaller clubs like us come from the budget of Sky. When they give us money, it is very important for the smaller clubs - maybe not as much for Bayern - but there is a risk that the more money you get, you pay it to the players. That's the big challenge every club has to fight and we try not to give the full budget to the players. We maybe try to keep it for our worst days."

Following a respectable return to the league after relegation in 2007, Thomas Tuchel's flamboyant and youthful side finished fifth and qualified for Europe in 2010/11. Furthermore, Mainz had the strongest credit rating of all Bundesliga sides that season with a ranking of 103 - an impressive statistic considering the league average three years earlier was 223.

As Mainz entered a tough transition period following the loss of Andre Schurrle and Lewis Holtby, 39-year-old Tuchel ensured their Bundesliga status with a modest mid-table finish, whilst the club announced a post-tax profit of €5 million for the financial year, spending only 42% of their €53m budget used on player salaries.

Appreciative of the problems Mainz face in growing commercially, in comparison to others around them in the table, Blumlein knows the importance of their switch to the 30,000-capacity Coface Arena which has allowed them to expand as a club, increasing uptake in hospitality and maximising the blossoming attendance figures in the German Bundesliga.

The increased income from matchday revenue and with 50% of the rent for the stadium being subsidised by the sponsors, it is clear to see why the club is going places - and is setting a benchmark for the likes of SC Freiburg, of similar regional stature, who are also challenging to break into the European slots.

"It was another big milestone in our history because now we can compete with other clubs. Without such a stadium of that size and the possibility to have more Sky and business boxes, you cannot earn that money to compete for a long time. When we came into the league for the first time, many thought we would leave right away.

"After three years, we came back which was even harder and we did that without a big, modern stadium. It's not always sold-out because of the opponents who were not so attracted in the last eight games, but when the big teams come - Bayern and others - we will be sold out. The size is perfect for us.

"The club and board of Freiburg have been here to the Coface Arena and I showed them because I was the person here for Mainz responsible for the project. I had the honour to show the club our new stadium and they were really happy to see it, and if they had such money, they would build it exactly the same. I know they would like to move to such a stadium."

Bundesliga clubs are ready to cash-in on a lucrative TV agreement with Sky that will come into play for next season. The current distribution ratio between first and second league clubs is 79:21 but that is set to change with 80% of monies kept in the Bundesliga for the new agreement. The strict licensing model in German domestic football has created a sustainable, competitive playing environment. Licensing and running a self-sufficient club have been engrained in the Bundesliga's roots since 1963 - and Mainz are beginning to find rewards, where they would previously have been dwarfed by other clubs.

English Premier League clubs are prohibited from reaching losses of £105m over three seasons, as part of recent financial regulations passed last week. The aim is to increase the sustainability of Premier League clubs, whilst continuing with the current ownership model that encourages foreign investment.

Asked if the 20 Premier League clubs should follow suit, the Mainz CFO insisted: "Of course they should."

He continued: "The German Football Association, and the 11 years of the DFL, they have been very successful with the licensing and although it might be annoying for the club because you have to take care of so many rules. It helps keep the clubs healthy and this is something UEFA should copy more, even with the Financial Fair Play. Clubs in England should be looking at the Bundesliga model. Not everything is perfect, of course, but it is important to have regulations.

"These days, we discuss ticket pricing a lot. We have a new stadium and a new experience here. We see the prices shouldn't go too high because it would too be expensive for fans. I think in England, the people don't have such a big decision in this. In Germany, the people decide if the prices change. The football fans don't make the decision there. They will go to the stadium and pay £5 more. You couldn't do that here."

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