AC Milan has confirmed they will implement a new maternity policy for its female players and staff, which will ensure a series of protections during pregnancy and early childhood that go beyond current regulations.
This newly introduced policy by the club will guarantee an automatic contract renewal for female players in the event of pregnancy during the final season of their contracts.
The Italian club will also make sure there will be assistance with childcare once the player returns to action. This will include support for flights, accommodation, and other travel expenses for the child of the player who carried the pregnancy, plus one companion.
In addition, the current existing protections related to pregnancy, mandatory remuneration, and return to activity will remain in place for players.
AC Milan CEO, Giorgio Furlani, commented on the new maternity policy and hopes that will inspire other clubs to follow:
“We are proud to present such an important project, which once again demonstrates AC Milan’s attention towards relevant matters for all the people of the Rossoneri family,” he said via media release on the club’s website.
“We want this new step to be a further motivation for growth and development for the entire Club, becoming a model to follow, at a national and international level, ensuring that the world of football increasingly becomes an environment where everyone can feel free to make important personal decisions.”
Head of Women’s Football at AC Milan, Elisabet Spina, praised the club’s effort to support its female players:
“The Club has always shown great attention to the well-being of its female players and staff members, both professionally and personally,” she said via media release on the club’s website.
“For example, we were the first Italian Club to contribute social security benefits to our players, well before the introduction of professionalism. We further demonstrated it through the #WeAllAreFootball manifesto to mitigate gender conflict, which led to the definition of principles, initiatives, and concrete interventions on the Club’s infrastructure.
“We are now about to start a new season in which we will work to achieve important goals, both on and off the field: we are excited to approach it by introducing our innovative policy,” she said.
According to FIFPro’s 2017 Women’s Global Employment Report, a global study on working conditions in women’s football, only two per cent of female players interviewed across four continents had children and 47 per cent said they would leave the sport to start a family.
However earlier this year, FIFPro unveiled changes to further protect players and coaches during and after pregnancy which included:
- A minimum of two, four or eight weeks’ leave for adoption
- At least eight weeks of leave for the partners of mothers in same-sex relationships
- Players have the right to take time off for health issues related to menstruation
AC Milan’s new maternity policy is an excellent way to show support for female players’ ambitions on and off the pitch, providing an opportunity to start a family while playing at a high level of sport.
Football clubs across the world, including Australia, should consider following and applying this policy to ensure female players are given the chance to still play at an elite level while not worrying too much about how it affects life outside of the sport.
Regarding football in Australia and the complicated financial situation it’s currently in, it may take a while for a policy like this to be pulled off and applied at football clubs and organisations in Australia.
