San Siro (foto: uradna spletna stran kluba)
AC Milan becomes the first major European club to introduce an innovative maternity policy, offering significant support to female players and staff during and after pregnancy.
AC Milan has become the first major European football club to implement an innovative maternity policy for its female players and coaching staff.
The initiative was launched at the end of the week and takes effect immediately, aiming to provide basic protection for women during pregnancy and the first eight years of a child's life. The key feature is the automatic extension of contracts if a female player becomes pregnant.
Those who find themselves in the last year of their contract will have it automatically extended under the same terms as before. Therefore, AC Milan's female players who wish to start a traditional family no longer need to fear losing their income.
Milan has also committed to providing child care during the mothers' recovery and their first months together. Additionally, the club will ensure child care during the mothers' sporting activities and cover travel costs, including accommodation and flights, not just for the child but also for one accompanying person traveling with the mother and child.
With this policy, the Italian giant has addressed one of the biggest issues in women’s football, providing a model for others to follow. Often, female players had to choose between their careers and motherhood because combining the two was challenging.
With such regulations in place, AC Milan has made history by ensuring equal conditions for both men and women within the team (of course, not in terms of salary). We hope this is just one step in raising awareness about women's rights in a sport that, until a few decades ago, was almost exclusively reserved for men.