The 2024-25 season will be the 125th anniversary of AC Milan’s founding and they have announced a number of different initiatives that will mark the occasion.
As the official website writes, it was back on 16 December 1899 at the Hotel du Nord et des Anglais in Piazza della Repubblica that Englishman Herbert Kilpin and a handful of passionate friends founded the Milan Cricket and Football Club.
One-and-a-quarter centuries on and Milan have won 49 national and international titles – including seven Champions Leagues, 19 Serie A titles, five UEFA Super Cups, and a FIFA Club World Cup – but they are also a global brand that have branched into entertainment, media, fashion, music and lifestyle culture.
Special shirt and new store
During an official match of the 2024-25 season, the two Milan first teams (men and women) will wear a special commemorative shirt, created with PUMA and designed together with tens of thousands of Rossoneri fans.
In recent months, the Club launched the ‘Design our jersey, design our legacy’ campaign, asking its fans to choose some key elements of this special kit – from the stripe width to the historic badge, to the details inside the collar – and offering participants the chance to win exclusive prizes.
Meanwhile, there will be another club shop opened on Via Dante, and the ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place tomorrow, 17 July, in the presence of the Senior Management and some players from the first teams.
The new ‘Flagship Store’ will become the club’s largest and presents itself as an immersive space and dynamic hub for AC Milan events and initiatives. It is a space of over 500 square metres, perfect to celebrate the 125th anniversary.
On and off-field events
On the pitch, the 125th-anniversary celebrations will culminate in December, the month marking the club’s founding anniversary, particularly during the AC Milan vs. Genoa match along with a Women’s Serie A matchday.
For these two games, the teams will wear the special commemorative jerseys created with PUMA. The opportunity to kick off the celebrations will already arise in the summer when the men’s first team will meet two other historic international football teams, also celebrating their 125th anniversary this year.
They are SK Rapid, which will open the doors of the Allianz Stadion in Hütteldorf, Vienna, on July 20, and FC Barcelona, the opponent at M&T Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 7, in the 2024 Soccer Champions Tour that coach Fonseca’s team will play in the United States.
August 13 will be an emotionally intense date for all AC Milan fans: through the ‘Silvio Berlusconi Trophy’ which will be held at San Siro for the first time, one of the brightest chapters in AC Milan’s history will be celebrated, under the leadership of President Silvio Berlusconi.
Off the field, in the coming months, the club will be involved in a series of special events, including a Dinner Gala where many figures from the past, present, and future of Rossoneri history will gather to share the emotions of this significant anniversary.
Another special event will take place with the 18th edition of MITO SettembreMusica, a Festival uniting the cities of Milan and Turin through internationally renowned musical events.
Milan – together with Torino FC, which simultaneously celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Superga disaster – will be the first football club to have a contemporary opera dedicated to it. The opera will be performed live, supported by various archival footage.
Comments from the management
The central thread running through the celebrations will be the involvement of the millions of fans both in Italy and around the world that the club are able to boast, something that the hierarchy are aware of.
Club president Paolo Scaroni: “We celebrate with the entire Rossoneri family an important milestone in the growth of our club, which over the years has always been a model of success and style, embodying values, both on and off the field. Today, we look with pride at our past and with great confidence and optimism toward our future.”
CEO Giorgio Furlani: “Throughout its history, Milan has always been an innovator: it has demonstrated this over time through its style of play, the successes achieved, the cutting-edge methodologies applied, its technical centres, or its inclusive spirit with strong values, the power of the brand, commercial drive, and especially through the talent of its protagonists.
“Today, strengthened by the support and strategic vision of Gerry Cardinale and RedBird Capital Partners, AC Milan is laying the foundations for its next 125 years, to bring new successes and emotions to all its fans.”
Yeah. Way to go Cheapinale. Squeeze out every penny from this club. 125 years anniversary. Celebrate by opening a store and special shirt to squeeze out money from the fans instead of Statement signing. What a clown. What a loser. What a bum. #CardinaleOUT