Brands have launched prototype boots before. That's nothing new. But few have looked this deliberately unfinished. The internal codename, all-white execution and discreet branding of On's debut football boot make it feel more like a concept car unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show than a future football silo. And that's exactly why I love it.
It’s doing something differently. Breaking out of the mould, both literally and figuratively. Because the question for any brand trying to break into football would always be how? More specifically, what can you offer that nobody else can? Well, On already had that answer with their LightSpray technology. Lifted from the running world, it's the technology that instantly differentiates the brand's approach to football. But having a breakthrough innovation is one thing. Convincing football to care about it is another.
How do you package that to the outside world? To the potential professionals outside of your Kylian Mbappé’s and Sydney Schertenleib’s that you hope will fall in love with your product? And then to the grassroots players who have worn adidas and Nike all their lives? The answer is you do things differently from the ground up; you invite all these people in on your journey. Rather than just seeing the finished product, invite them into the development process itself. It’s a unique position that the team at On Football find themselves in, and they’re rightly looking to exploit it.
Everything about On's approach feels fresh. From the technology behind the boot's construction to the way the brand has openly documented its progress, there is a level of transparency rarely seen in football footwear.
We're used to seeing whiteout prototypes tested by professionals. Usually it starts with a grainy training-ground image, a blurry zoom from the stands, or a social media leak. From there, football boot obsessives – like yours truly – piece together clues based on silhouettes, soleplates and athlete affiliations. But that’s about all you get to see ahead of an official launch. On, however, have effectively lifted the curtain. Rather than treating the prototype stage as something to be hidden, they've turned it into part of the story. The journey itself has become the launch.
For the first time in a competitive La Liga fixture, against Villarreal, Kylian Mbappé stepped onto the pitch wearing the latest On prototype, the ON-DCPT-KM010, identifiable through the subtle black typography across the upper. It followed his first appearance in an all-white On prototype during France's UEFA Nations League clash with Turkey in September 2026, officially marking his high-profile switch from Nike.
The boot Mbappé wore against Villarreal is part of an ongoing co-creation process between On and its athletes. Rather than finalising a product behind closed doors, the brand is testing ideas in real match situations, gathering feedback on fit, lockdown, durability and performance before feeding those insights back into development.
As I’ve mentioned previously, at the centre of On’s football innovation is LightSpray. More than just a manufacturing process, it's the foundation of On's football project. Using a robotic arm to spray an ultra-thin filament around a foot-shaped last, the technology creates a seamless upper without traditional stitching or adhesives. It gives On an entirely different starting point from which to engineer a football boot, influencing everything from weight and comfort to fit and sensation on the ball.
Around that innovation engine, the brand is experimenting with different constructions, including both laced and laceless concepts, searching for the right balance between performance, preference and playing style. But whatever direction the final product takes, LightSpray remains the constant.
As an unreleased development model, the boot carries a serial number used to track this specific prototype through testing – ON-DCPT-KM010. At first, the code feels deliberately mysterious, but break it down and it likely reads as "On", followed by "DCPT", potentially shorthand for "Deception", and finally "KM010", identifying Mbappé's specific development iteration (On’s Director of Football, Henry, showed off a pair recently on socials with the code ON-DCPT-KM210).
Whether my code-breaking skills are up to scratch remains to be seen, but it almost doesn't matter. Like all good prototypes, the code adds another layer of intrigue. It feels less like a product name and more like something lifted from an industrial design lab.
On has announced that its football collection is planned for commercial rollout in 2027. Until then, the brand will continue to develop, test, and refine every detail alongside their players – bringing their approach to innovation to the football pitch. And they’re taking us with them on this journey. That feels new.
On is planning to commercially launch its football collection in 2027. Between now and then, the brand will continue to test, refine and evolve every detail alongside its athletes.
For me though, the most interesting part isn't the technology, the player endorsements or even the final product itself. It's the fact that we're being allowed to witness the process. This level of development is usually hidden behind closed doors, so it’s incredibly refreshing to see that On are choosing transparency over secrecy, bringing players, fans and boot enthusiasts along for the ride.
I for one am hoping that this is the start of not just another brand’s emergence in football, but of a new way to experience the Creative Soccer Culture embedded at the highest level of the game.
