‘Milan’s maternity policy is a big thing. It gives you an opportunity to not have to make a big sacrifice’

3 months ago 33

NADIA NADIM hopes AC Milan’s move to guarantee contract renewals for players who become pregnant can be adopted by other elite clubs.

The Milan forward, who is a qualified doctor, would also like to see top sides help female footballers to access egg freezing services.

a female soccer player wearing a puma jersey kicks the ball

Nadia Nadim says AC Milan’s maternity policy is a positive move for female players hoping to have children[/caption]

a group of female soccer players are playing on a field

Players who get pregnant in the final year of their deals are guaranteed automatic contract renewals[/caption]

Nadim, whose team take on Inter in the Milan derby today, has been reflecting on her club’s new maternity policy.

In August AC Milan announced it would guarantee the renewal of contracts for its female players who get pregnant in the final year of their deals.

The Italian top-flight giants now provide an automatic renewal with a one-year extension on the same economic terms on a player’s existing contract.

The decision saw them become the first club in Europe to introduce this maternity policy.

It includes assistance with childcare, travel and accommodation expenses for female players’ children.

The club says players who are expectant mums will also be provided with access to expert advice on physiotherapy and nutritional issues.

Nadim, who joined Milan this January, said: “For female athletes it’s sometimes hard to find the right balance between wanting to compete at the highest level, or to have a family.

“As athletes, we work hard, but we sacrifice even more. At a certain point it’s between choosing.

“A lot of us might stop (our playing careers) at, say, 37 and for some of it gets really hard to get pregnant.

“And I know this as a doctor, it doesn’t become easier, it becomes harder.

“You have female players who reach the end of their careers and think, ‘holy s**t, I really want to start a family, but right now, it seems really hard’.

“But AC Milan’s policy is a big thing.

“Having this opportunity (of a guaranteed contract renewal) is brilliant, and I really hope that more clubs are going to follow.”

Before joining Milan, Nadim spent two years playing for US top-flight women’s side Racing Louisville following spells at Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain from 2018 to 2021.

In 2021 the club became the first National Women’s Soccer League outfit to help players to access fertility preservation services including egg freezing and embryo freezing.

Their initiative was carried out in collaboration with the Kentucky Fertility Institute.

And it is one Nadim hopes to see replicated by other top tier football sides.

The Milan forward adds: “Being able to freeze your eggs gives you a totally different pathway.

“It’s something that European clubs could consider adopting.”

Nadim, who was born in Herat in Afghanistan, fled to Denmark with her family in 2000, when they discovered the Taliban had executed her father.

The 105-capped Denmark international, began playing football at the age of 12 before starting her senior playing career in 2006 with Danish side IK Skovbakken (now known as VSK Aarhus).

In January 2022, Nadim, who was part of the Denmark team that reached the 2017 Women’s Euros finals, became a fully-qualified doctor specialising in reconstructive surgery.

And the forward, who wrote a PhD on incontinence in elite women players, hopes to see more research done on the healthcare for female athletes.

Nadim said: “Seeing bigger clubs trying to treat female players as individuals who have different needs, and trying to build the structure around them is pretty cool.

“That’s where we should be heading to”.

On the pitch Nadim hopes to help her side secure their first win in Italy’s women’s top-flight this season.

Their opening two games ended as narrow 1-0 and 2-1 losses to Como and Fiorentina.