Swiss sportswear brand On has become the official outfitter and partner of the UBS Kids Cup, rebranding its youth development program as the On Talent Club starting April 1, 2026. The multi-year deal covers more than 1,000 annual events and roughly 150,000 participants and volunteers across Switzerland’s largest youth track and field series.
Key Takeaways
- On becomes the official outfitter and partner of the UBS Kids Cup starting April 1, 2026
- The rebranded On Talent Club gives the brand direct ownership of the competition’s youth development program
- The UBS Kids Cup spans 1,000+ annual events with approximately 150,000 participants and volunteers
- On will supply high-performance apparel to young athletes at the Cantonal and Swiss Finals
- Ditaji Kambundji, now an On athlete, started her career at the UBS Kids Cup
What the On UBS Kids Cup Partnership Actually Includes
Organized by Weltklasse Zürich and Swiss Athletics, the UBS Kids Cup is the country’s primary grassroots funnel for track and field. On’s deal goes beyond event sponsorship. The brand absorbed the existing youth development program and rebranded it as the On Talent Club, offering age-appropriate, professional guidance, unique athlete experiences, and high-performance gear at the Cantonal and Swiss Finals.
Flavio Calligaris, Senior Director of Athlete Strategy & Partnership at On, framed the deal around the brand’s athlete pipeline: “No one embodies this journey from youth talent to top athlete better than our own athletes Mujinga as well as Ditaji Kambundji, who started her career at the UBS Kids Cup. With this commitment, the circle is complete: we are fostering the Swiss stars of tomorrow.”
Ditaji Kambundji competed in the UBS Kids Cup as a child and now represents On at the elite level. That arc, from first competition to elite contract, is the journey Flavio Calligaris cited directly in the partnership announcement.
Program Ownership as a Sponsorship Model
Most brand-event partnerships stop at logo placement and apparel supply. On went further by absorbing the youth development program and rebranding it entirely under the On Talent Club name. The program is not a co-branded initiative. It carries On’s name alone, creating a direct relationship between the brand and young athletes from their first competition onward.
Christoph Joho, Co-Meeting Director of Weltklasse Zürich, acknowledged the structural shift: “…The founding of the On Talent Club will take our talent development to a new level. Together, we will continue to write the success story of the UBS Kids Cup.”
For youth sports organizations elsewhere, this structure offers a template. Rather than selling traditional sponsorship packages, event operators can pitch apparel and footwear brands on program ownership, where the brand takes over a defined development track, gets naming rights to that track, and builds long-term athlete association starting at the grassroots level.
A Brand Built for This Play
On launched approximately twelve years ago in the Swiss Alps and now operates in more than 60 countries. Its expansion into youth development at home follows a pattern familiar among premium sportswear companies: invest early in grassroots participation where brand loyalty forms. Few brands go as far as renaming the development program itself. That distinction matters for operators evaluating how to structure high-value brand deals around youth platforms.
Source: Press On Running
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