After being the first Italian team to introduce pensions for their women’s team, AC Milan have, once again, broken ground by introducing new maternity leave policies for players and staff, as confirmed in a statement today.
Among the protections, the team offers is offering a contract renewal to their pregnant players with a one-year extension. The contract offers the same economic terms for the players if their contract is set to expire during the season in which the pregnancy started. In other words, the salary of the contract will not be reduced, even if the player misses most of the season to have a child.
Furthermore, the team will also provide childcare during sports activities. This includes support for children on flights, providing reasonable accommodation, and other travel expenses for the children of the player who carried the pregnancy or is the sole guardian, plus one companion.
The Rossonere players will also continue to benefit from protections related to pregnancy and return to activity as stipulated by FIFA guidelines, the AIC (Italy’s Football Union) collective agreements, and the club’s internal regulations.
Milan will also provide its players with professionals from the psycho-pedagogical, physiotherapy, and nutritional areas and reserves the right to involve external experts as needed to assist their players.
All of these changes were made after consulting the players from both the first and Primavera teams as well as members of staff. The new guidelines were crafted through a series of meetings, interviews, and surveys, largely guided by the psychopedagogy area of the club.
The club posted a statement on the official website this morning, which reads, “In this same spirit of sharing, AC Milan will continue to build and shape its offerings to ensure the creation of an increasingly inclusive and safe environment for its players and staff members.”