<p>In honor of Mother’s Day this weekend, several Serie A teams will switch the names on their players’ jerseys. In effort to honor both sets of parents, the jerseys will include the mothers’ last names (i.e. maiden names) rather than the fathers’.</p>



<p>This year, it’s for more than just Mother’s Day in Italy; it’s also the five-year anniversary of a ruling by Italy’s Constitutional Court that changed the country’s laws in April 2017. </p>



<p>Before that, each child in Italy was legally required to take their father’s last name at birth.</p>



<p>However, the country’s highest court deemed this practice illegal. So, now both parents must mutually agree upon the choice of last name at birth. Only six clubs—<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/ac-milan-tv-schedule/">AC Milan</a>, Cagliari, Genoa, Lecce, Torino, Verona, and Udinese—will be able to take part in the initiative. </p>



<p>What’s more, it will sadly only be valid for this weekend. <a href="https://www.pazzidifanta.com/news-fantacalcio/festa-della-mamma-nomi-maglia-serie-a-news-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sky Italia</a> reports that other Serie A teams were hoping to participate as well. However, the league’s governing body announced it too late, leaving them little time to organize it.</p>



<h2>Two of four USMNT stars to participate</h2>



<p>Serie A boasts as many as four <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/nations/usmnt-tv-schedule/">USMNT</a> starters, but only two of them will get to take part in this admirable initiative. Being that Juventus did not have sufficient time to prepare their resources, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/potter-once-again-linked-to-milan-what-does-it-mean-for-pulisic/">Christian Pulisic</a> and <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/milan-thank-pulisic-and-musah-for-growth-of-popularity-in-usa-20231119-WST-471386.html">Yunus Musah</a> will take part.</p>



<p>In Saturday’s home game against Cagliari, Milan will be looking to get closer to securing second place in the league. This is the second-to-last home game of the season for the Rossoneri. This whole thing started with them, who supposedly pitched the idea to other teams.</p>



<p>During the game, Pulisic will wear a jersey that says ‘Harlow’, while Musah will take on ‘Abubakari’. Other club superstars like Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao will also be sporting kits with the words ‘Viviane’ and ‘Conceicao’ printed on their backs.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://www.milanismo.it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1080" height="1080" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20240511_WST_506126_ac-milan-players-mothers-last-names_dc358501.webp&amp;width=1080&amp;height=1080" alt="" class="wp-image-506129" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/05/ac-milan-players-mothers-last-names.jpg 1080w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/05/ac-milan-players-mothers-last-names-300x300.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/05/ac-milan-players-mothers-last-names-150x150.jpg 150w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/05/ac-milan-players-mothers-last-names-768x768.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px"></figure></a><figcaption>Photo credit: Milanismo</figcaption></figure>



<h2>What did AC Milan say?</h2>



<p>“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. We are equally pleased with the attention and enthusiasm with which it has been welcomed by Lega Serie A and the participation of several other clubs in our league.</p>



<p>“An operation in line with AC Milan’s vision, which has always promoted positive values, such as social and gender equality, to contribute to a common and shared cultural change”, <a href="https://www.acmilan.com/en/news/articles/club/2024-05-10/ac-milan-takes-the-field-with-maternal-surname-for-the-right-to-personal-identity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani said</a>.</p>



<p>Meanwhile, the American duo’s captain, Davide Calabria added: “In my personal and professional growth, my mother has been the most important person. She sacrificed everything for me, teaching me the spirit of sacrifice and dedication. Wearing her surname on the field this weekend will be a great source of pride for me.”</p>



<p>Valentina Bergamaschi, the Rossoneri women’s captain also said: “My mother is the most important woman in my life. I am proud to represent a Club that, on such a special day, chooses to raise awareness about important issues like the freedom to choose children’s surnames. Gender equality also extends to such things.”</p>



<p>Photo credit: IMAGO / Goal Sports Images</p>

Pulisic and Musah to don different names on Milan kits

In honor of Italy's Mother's Day this weekend, several Serie A teams will be switching around the names on their players' jerseys.

Pulisic and Musah to don different names on Milan kits - World Soccer Talk


<p>Chelsea hoped for a shirt sponsor from American streaming service Paramount+. <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/paramount-sponsoring-inter-milan-shirt-for-last-two-games-20230602-WST-435842.html">Inter Milan donned the service’s logo</a> on the front of its shirt during the UEFA Champions League Final. However, due to concerns of damaging the Premier League’s relationship with current broadcast partners, the league barred the sponsorship deal from happening. </p>



<p>Chelsea hoped to complete a deal where Paramount would pay a massive fee to put its logo on Chelsea’s kit. There was no reported fee for how much it paid to be on Inter Milan’s kit at the end of the 2022/23 campaign. However, talks between Paramount+ and Chelsea were at an advanced stage for a deal, according to the Daily Mail. </p>



<p>Even though Paramount+ does not broadcast soccer in England, the league thought BT Sport and Sky Sports would not be overly thrilled with this deal. Still, Paramount+ is not a direct competitor to those. It is, however, to NBC and Peacock for American audiences. NBC signed a massive <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/nbc-wins-premier-league-rights-through-2027-28-20211118-CMS-356238.html">six-year contract</a> with the Premier League worth $2.6 billion. Peacock is a direct competitor to Paramount+. In addition to broadcasting live sports, both have ample entertainment options. Perhaps that impacted the deal with the Premier League and CBS.</p>



<p>The Premier League cited the Deed of License as its reason to shut down the deal. That covers several facets of media and licensing rights with Premier League clubs. Still, the move to stop the agreement surprised Chelsea, which is now scrambling for a sponsor.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">❌ Chelsea have been refused permission to sign a shirt sponsorship deal with Paramount Plus by the Premier League due to concerns it that it would cause issues with the league’s broadcast partners.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CFC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChelseaFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChelseaFC</a> <a href="https://t.co/fnzg911NkG">pic.twitter.com/fnzg911NkG</a></p>— We&apos;ve Won It All (@cfcwonitall) <a href="https://twitter.com/cfcwonitall/status/1670718065573605378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h2>Chelsea needed Paramount+ as a shirt sponsor</h2>



<p>The club’s deal with Three, a phone and internet service provider, expired at the end of the 2022/23 campaign. Rather than re-upping its deal, Three wanted to move away from Chelsea as a result of the club’s connection to Roman Abramovich. Even though the Russian billionaire sold the club to American Todd Boehly, Three is still ready to move on.</p>



<p>Now that the Paramount+ shirt sponsor fell through, Chelsea requires a replacement. Some of the contenders are familiar faces when it comes to kits. The leading candidate now is Stake, an online betting company. The main issue with this is that <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/premier-league-teams-ban-betting-sponsors-on-jerseys-20230413-WST-428305.html">betting sponsorships are going to be banned</a> beginning with the 2026/27 season. That means any deal with Stake could last just three seasons. </p>



<p>Allianz, which is a principal sponsor of Bayern Munich, is also a candidate. Regardless, Stake appears to be the leader for the race to Chelsea’s main kit sponsor.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Sebastian Frej</em></p>


Chelsea had hopes for a shirt sponsor from American subscription service Paramount+. Inter Milan donned the service's logo recently.

Premier League stops Chelsea Paramount+ shirt sponsor deal


<p>During the last two <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/inter-milan-tv-schedule/">Inter Milan</a> games of the 2022/23 campaign, the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/paramount-plus-2/">Paramount+</a> logo will feature on the front of the shirt. CBS’s paid streaming service is the home of both <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/serie-a-tv-schedule/">Serie A</a> and the UEFA Champions League for American audiences. With a game against Torino in the Serie A finale this weekend, this means viewers in the United States will see the Paramount+ logo while watching on Paramount+.</p>



<p>However, on a larger scale, the Paramount+ logo will be on the shirt for Inter in the UEFA Champions League Final. Again, the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/champions-league-tv-schedule/">Champions League TV schedule</a> this season almost exclusively ran through Paramount+. While the Final itself is on both CBS and Paramount+, it is still somewhat strange to see an American broadcast company’s logo on a shirt. This would equate to the Peacock logo on the Arsenal kit or Atletico Madrid showing ESPN on its kit.</p>



<p>Of course, Paramount+ is not solely available for American audiences. The service launched in Italy less than a year ago. It does not have any soccer content, yet. For example, Champions League coverage belongs to Amazon, Sky Sports and Mediaset. That being said, the service launched in September 2022 with <a href="https://www.paramount.com/press/paramount-arrives-in-italy-with-unbeatable-offering-combining-strong-slate-of-italian-series-and-movies-with-exclusive-global-originals">over 8,000 hours</a> of content. That was all movies, TV shows and general entertainment that American users of Paramount+ also get.</p>



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<h2>Paramount+ prevents blank shirt for Inter Milan</h2>



<p>For the last several weeks, Inter has played with a blank shirt. The club’s initial sponsor was DigitalBits, a cryptocurrency company. However, <a href="https://www.goal.com/en/news/explained-why-inter-roma-dropping-sponsor-digitalbits-from-front-of-shirts-blockchain-company-fails-make-payments/bltcde9f8f5c9880779" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">missed payments on that sponsorship</a> forced Inter to redact the logo from its shirt. Therefore, in the UEFA Champions League semifinals, Coppa Italia Final and recent Serie A games, Inter had no sponsor on the front of its shirt.</p>



<p>Inter is not the only club in Italy to have this issue. Roma replaced DigitalBits with the city’s historical abbreviation “SPQR,” an homage to the ancient Roman Republic. Inter Milan signed a three-year deal with DigitalBits in a deal worth around $50 million.</p>



<p>Paramount+ may be based out of the United States. Still, it took the likely opportune moment to get a discounted rate on a major club’s shirt. Unfortunately, there is no current information on how much Paramount is paying for this. While it is only for two games, one of those is Inter’s biggest game in 13 years. It would be interesting to see the Paramount+ logo in historical photos of this game down the road.</p>


During the last two Inter Milan games of the 2022/23 campaign, the Paramount+ logo will feature on the front of the shirt.

ALL POSTS TAGGED "Kit"

News

Pulisic and Musah to don different names on Milan kits

Chelsea

Premier League stops Chelsea Paramount+ shirt sponsor deal

CBS Sports

Paramount+ sponsoring Inter Milan shirt for last two games