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On is entering football. The Swiss brand announced the move on September 18, with Kylian Mbappé as its global ambassador and development partner and Thierry Henry as its first Director of Football. Sydney Schertenleib, the Switzerland international and FC Barcelona player, completes the line-up.
No boots have been shown yet. What On has shown is the plan behind them, and a set of images suggesting it intends to do this differently.
What On Has Announced
Mbappé will work directly with On’s product teams on future football footwear and apparel, testing and shaping them from the start. He also becomes a global ambassador for the brand, in a role On says reaches beyond football into movement, performance and contemporary design. On bills him as the reigning World Cup record goal scorer.
Henry has been working with On behind the scenes since late 2025, and the new title makes it official. His remit covers product, athlete relationships and how the brand approaches football culture. The 1998 World Cup winner and Arsenal’s all-time leading scorer says the aim is to “listen to players, understand what they need” and build something that adds to the game.
Schertenleib joined On in December 2025 as a training and lifestyle ambassador. Her role now widens to product development and testing, with a focus on the women’s game. She says she has never felt the ball the way she does in the product the team is developing.
On describes the process as athlete-led from the outset, with a deliberately small group of elite players.
The Technology: LightSpray
The engine of the project is LightSpray, On’s robotic manufacturing process, first introduced in 2024. Rather than cutting and stitching panels, it builds an upper from a single continuous sprayed filament. On says the method is designed to outperform traditionally made footwear. For football, the stated goal is a boot that is exceptionally light, precise and close to the foot, like a second skin.
Those are the brand’s claims, and they will be judged where it counts, on the pitch, by players who are unsentimental about their boots. A seamless upper is a logical fit for a game decided by touch, though, and On has the manufacturing head start to try it.
A Launch Shot In A Lab
Juergen Teller photographed Mbappé, Henry and Schertenleib inside On Labs in Zurich, surrounded by prototypes, machinery and the LightSpray robot itself. It is a deliberate swerve from the usual football campaign, with no floodlit pitch and no slow-motion boot shot. Teller’s direct, unfussy portraiture keeps the focus on the people and the process.
Why It Matters Beyond The Pitch
“Football doesn’t need another sportswear brand to do more of the same,” says David Allemann, On’s founder and co-CEO. He frames the ambition as spanning the pitch, the pavement and the runway.
That last part is where this becomes a story for FashionBeans readers. On built its name on running shoes that earn their place in a wardrobe as well as on a road, and football has always fed menswear, from terrace casuals to the retro shirt revival. A brand with On’s restrained design language entering a category that has often leaned loud is worth watching.
The challenge is real. The category is dominated by long-established giants, and On is starting from scratch. The team it has assembled, and the way it has chosen to introduce itself, suggest it knows that.
What We Know
Confirmed by On
- Mbappé is a global ambassador and will work with On’s product teams
- Henry is Director of Football
- Schertenleib’s role expands into football product development, with a focus on the women’s game
- LightSpray is the core technology
- The launch campaign was shot by Juergen Teller at On Labs in Zurich
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