Milan, 20th May, 2024 – On Mother’s Day weekend in Italy, for the first time in the history of Italian football, the male and female first-team players of AC Milan wore football shirts with the surnames of their mothers to highlight the right to personal identity.
The empowering initiative developed in collaboration with Serviceplan Italia and promoted by League Series A, the top professional league football competition in Italy, aims to raise awareness about the right to personal identity. On 27th April, 2022, the Italian Constitutional Court declared the rule that imposes the automatic attribution of the father’s surname discriminatory. Since 1st June of the same year, under Italian law, both parents must be able to share the choice of their children’s surname, as it is a fundamental element of their personal identity.
The special jerseys featuring maternal surnames were worn by the AC Milan men’s first team on Saturday 11th May during their home match against Cagliari. Part of the proceeds from auctioning these jerseys will be donated to Fondazione Milan, supporting the “A Goal to Dream” project which promotes women’s empowerment through sports in Pakistan. The women’s first team wore their maternal surnames on Sunday 12th May against Napoli. The jerseys were gifted to the players after the match.
Giorgio Furlani, CEO of AC Milan, stated: “We are happy and proud of this initiative, launched on a special occasion like Mother’s Day to raise public awareness about the equal right to choose the surname of one’s children. We are equally pleased with the attention and enthusiasm with which it has been welcomed by League Series A and the participation of several other clubs in our league. This is an initiative in line with Milan’s vision, which has always promoted positive values such as social equality and gender equality, to contribute to a cultural change that is common and shared.”
Stefania Siani, CEO and CCO of Serviceplan Italia, adds: “We are happy that the collaboration with AC Milan and League Series A allows us to bring the issue of the right to the last name to the attention of many fans in Italy and around the world. The Constitutional Court ruling makes us reflect on how the attribution of only the father’s surname results in the mother’s invisibility and ultimately signifies inequality between parents, which reflects and imprints on the child’s identity. It is now up to us to continue paving the way for gender equality, with collective reflection moments like this.”
The initiative aligns with AC Milan’s commitment to promoting values of equity, diversity and inclusion, and contributing to positive change inside and outside the world of football.
