In a gesture honoring legacy and promoting gender equality, Milan stars will spotlight their maternal roots against Bologna.
This Friday, May 9, the San Siro will host more than a Serie A clash between AC Milan and Bologna. It will be a celebration of legacy and maternal love, as Milan’s first-team players once again take the pitch wearing their mothers’ maiden names on their backs.
Leading the tribute is American forward Christian Pulisic, who will wear “Harlow” in place of his surname. For U.S. fans, it is a powerful image: a star player, known worldwide by one name, choosing to spotlight another. In doing so, Pulisic joins his teammates in a symbolic reversal of football’s patriarchal norms, putting maternal identity at the heart of the game.
Now in its second year, the initiative marks a cultural shift in Italian football. AC Milan was the first Serie A club to adopt the practice in 2024. Its return in 2025 reaffirms the club’s commitment to gender equity, family recognition, and societal progress. “We are happy and proud of this initiative, born on a special occasion like Mother’s Day to raise public awareness about the equal right to choose the surname of one’s children,” said Giorgio Furlani, AC Milan’s CEO.
More than a name
Names like “Harlow” and “Abubakari” (worn by Yunus Musah) will be seen on the matchday jerseys, announced in the official lineups, and displayed across San Siro’s giant screens. Some of the children supported by the club’s charity partner will even walk onto the field with the players.
AC Milan’s gesture comes at a meaningful time for Italy, following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling that called the exclusive use of the father’s surname discriminatory. Yet public understanding of the change remains limited. Milan is using the global spotlight of football to shift that awareness.
Off the pitch, the impact is tangible. Through Fondazione Milan, the club is raising funds to support 70 teenage mothers in the Gallaratese district of Milan. Proceeds from match-worn shirt auctions, purchases from the Women’s Collection, and museum ticket sales on matchday will go directly to programs providing vital support to young moms.
For players like Pulisic, the tribute is deeply personal and quietly radical. This Friday, he will do it again. But this time, millions more will know what “Harlow” means.
