The Swiss athletic footwear and apparel brand On has officially announced its entry into the global football market, signaling a major strategic expansion for a company that has primarily dominated the running and lifestyle sectors since its founding in Zurich in 2010. The announcement, made public on September 18, introduces a formidable lineup of football royalty to spearhead the initiative: French superstar Kylian Mbappé joins as a global ambassador and product development partner, Premier League legend Thierry Henry assumes the newly formalized role of Director of Football, and rising talent Sydney Schertenleib, a Switzerland international and FC Barcelona player, rounds out the core team.
Although On has yet to reveal physical prototypes or finished football boots to the public, the brand has laid out a comprehensive strategic roadmap and an avant-garde visual campaign that underscore its intention to approach the sport through an unorthodox lens. By leveraging cutting-edge proprietary manufacturing technologies, securing top-tier athletic partnerships, and targeting the intersection of high-performance sports and contemporary menswear culture, On is positioning itself to challenge entrenched industry giants like Nike, Adidas, and Puma.
Background Context and Strategic Ambition
For over a decade, On has carved out a lucrative niche in the highly competitive athletic footwear industry. Best known for its patented CloudTec cushioning technology and minimalist aesthetic, the brand transitioned rapidly from a running-specific startup into a lifestyle status symbol, bolstered by high-profile investments—including backing from tennis icon Roger Federer—and savvy collaborations with luxury fashion houses like Loewe.
However, the global football market represents an entirely different echelon of sportswear dominance. Valued in the tens of billions of dollars, football equipment and apparel demand rigorous technical precision, deep cultural resonance, and uncompromising durability. Entering this space requires more than just capital; it requires credibility among elite athletes and passionate supporters who are notoriously resistant to inauthentic branding.
David Allemann, co-founder and co-CEO of On, articulated the brand’s philosophy regarding the expansion, noting that football does not need another sportswear manufacturer content with derivative designs. Instead, On’s leadership has framed the football initiative as a holistic lifestyle and performance ecosystem bridging the pitch, the pavement, and the runway. This philosophy aligns closely with the evolving nature of modern menswear, where football culture—encompassing terrace casuals, vintage jerseys, and high-fashion collaborations—regularly dictates broader fashion trends.
The Leadership and Development Team
Rather than relying on traditional corporate product development pipelines, On has structured its football division around a deliberately small, elite group of players and experts tasked with driving innovation from the ground up.
Kylian Mbappé, widely regarded as one of the most lethal forwards in modern football and a reigning World Cup record goal scorer, brings immense star power and technical feedback to the partnership. Unlike conventional endorsement deals where athletes simply appear in promotional materials, Mbappé’s contract designates him as a development partner. He will work directly with On’s Zurich-based product teams from the earliest design phases, testing and refining future football footwear and apparel. Furthermore, his role as a global ambassador extends beyond the pitch, encompassing broader initiatives focused on human movement, high performance, and contemporary design.
Thierry Henry’s appointment as Director of Football formalizes a working relationship that has quietly developed behind the scenes since late 2025. As a 1998 World Cup winner, European Championship winner, and Arsenal’s all-time leading goal scorer, Henry brings decades of elite playing experience and deep cultural authority to the brand. His responsibilities encompass overseeing product strategy, managing elite athlete relationships, and guiding On’s engagement with global football culture. Henry has emphasized that the primary objective of his role is to listen closely to players, identify their exact functional requirements, and build products that genuinely enhance the game.
Completing the foundational trio is Sydney Schertenleib. Having initially joined On in December 2025 as a training and lifestyle ambassador, the young Swiss international and FC Barcelona star has seen her role significantly expanded. Schertenleib will now take an active part in product development and testing, with a specialized focus on optimizing equipment for the women’s game. Her early feedback highlights the tactile precision of On’s developmental prototypes, noting that she has never experienced the same level of connection with the ball as she does in the gear currently being engineered.
The Technological Engine: LightSpray
At the heart of On’s athletic ambitions is LightSpray, a revolutionary robotic manufacturing technology first introduced by the brand in 2024. This automated production process fundamentally departs from traditional footwear manufacturing, which relies heavily on cutting, shaping, and stitching multiple fabric panels together.
Instead, LightSpray utilizes a robotic arm to construct an entire shoe upper from a single continuous sprayed filament. For running shoes, this technique yielded an ultra-lightweight, seamless structure that conformed closely to the foot. Applied to football, the technological implications are profound. Modern football boots demand an optimal balance of structural containment, striking surface uniformity, and featherlight weight to maximize speed and tactile sensitivity.
By utilizing LightSpray, On aims to create a football boot that functions as a literal second skin, eliminating internal seams that can cause friction or deaden the sensation of ball contact. While these are bold technological claims, industry analysts note that a seamless upper represents a logical innovation for a sport where outcomes are frequently decided by fractions of a second and millimeter-precise touches.
A Radical Launch Strategy: Inside On Labs
In keeping with its unconventional entry into the sport, On bypassed traditional marketing tropes—such as rain-soaked floodlit pitches, dramatic CGI trailers, and slow-motion boot impacts—in favor of a raw, documentary-style reveal.
The launch campaign was captured by renowned photographer Juergen Teller inside On Labs in Zurich. Rather than hiding behind polished corporate imagery, Teller’s direct, unfussy portraiture places Mbappé, Henry, and Schertenleib directly among the machinery, raw materials, prototypes, and the LightSpray robotic manufacturing unit itself. This stark visual approach highlights the brand’s engineering-first mentality, emphasizing transparency, craftsmanship, and the physical reality of product innovation.
Market Implications and Industry Challenges
On’s entry into football arrives at a fascinating juncture for the athletic apparel industry. The football boot and apparel market is heavily consolidated, dominated by legacy giants that command immense market share, deep club sponsorships, and decades of entrenched loyalty among professional and amateur players alike.
Starting entirely from scratch presents a formidable hurdle. Elite footballers are notoriously unsentimental when it comes to their equipment; performance, reliability, and comfort override branding every time. However, On’s strategic decision to co-create its products directly with generational talents like Mbappé and Henry mitigates some of this risk, ensuring that the footwear meets the exacting demands of elite competition before hitting the commercial market.
From an economic and cultural standpoint, the move also signals On’s broader maturation as a global lifestyle powerhouse. By integrating high-performance athletic engineering with the aesthetic sensibilities of modern menswear and streetwear, the brand is positioning itself to capture consumers who view sportswear through both a functional and stylistic lens.
As the sporting world awaits the unveiling of On’s first physical football boots, the announcement has effectively redrawn the competitive landscape. By combining advanced robotic manufacturing with the unmatched expertise of its newly appointed football leadership team, On has signaled that its ambitions extend far beyond the running track, setting the stage for a compelling new chapter in the business of football.
