ONON
New game, new cleats
On Holding is taking a big swing at football, and it’s not doing it quietly. The Swiss sportswear brand said it signed Kylian Mbappé as a marquee ambassador, ending his long run with Nike and giving On a shiny new face for its global push into the world’s most-watched sport.
Why this matters
If you’re an investor, this is the kind of move that says, “We’re not just a running brand anymore.” On is trying to widen its lane, and football is a massive one. Mbappé will work with the company’s product engineering team in Zurich on custom cleats built around LightSpray, the company’s robotic spraying tech that sounds like it came from a sci-fi prop department but is very much real.
The dream team, apparently
On also said Thierry Henry has officially joined as Director of Football after advising behind the scenes since late 2025. And Sydney Schertenleib is expanding her ambassador role to help shape products for the women’s game. That’s a lot of football cred in one announcement, which is exactly the point: On wants legitimacy, not just attention.
Big picture
The stock was only modestly higher Friday, but the strategic signal is louder than the price move. If On can convert celebrity cachet into real product traction, this could be the start of a much bigger category story — and maybe a little trouble for the old guard keeping score from the sidelines.