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

NADIA NADIM hopes AC Milan’s determination to warrant declaration renewals for players who go large tin beryllium adopted by different elite clubs.

The Milan forward, who is simply a qualified doctor, would besides similar to spot apical sides assistance pistillate footballers to entree ovum freezing services.

Nadim, whose squad instrumentality connected Inter successful the Milan derby today, has been reflecting connected her club's caller maternity policy.

In August AC Milan announced it would warrant the renewal of contracts for its pistillate players who get large successful the last twelvemonth of their deals.

The Italian top-flight giants present supply an automatic renewal with a one-year hold connected the aforesaid economical presumption connected a player’s existing contract.  

The determination saw them go the archetypal nine successful Europe to present this maternity policy.

It includes assistance with childcare, question and accommodation expenses for pistillate players' children.

The nine says players who are expectant mums volition besides beryllium provided with entree to adept proposal connected physiotherapy and nutritional issues.

Nadim, who joined Milan this January, said: "For pistillate athletes it’s sometimes hard to find the close equilibrium betwixt wanting to vie astatine the highest level, oregon to person a family.

"As athletes, we enactment hard, but we sacrifice adjacent more. At a definite constituent it’s betwixt choosing.

"A batch of america mightiness halt (our playing careers) at, say, 37 and for immoderate of it gets truly hard to get pregnant.

"And I cognize this arsenic a doctor, it doesn’t go easier, it becomes harder.

"You person pistillate players who scope the extremity of their careers and think, 'holy s**t, I truly privation to commencement a family, but close now, it seems truly hard'.

"But AC Milan’s argumentation is simply a large thing.

"Having this accidental (of a guaranteed declaration renewal) is brilliant, and I truly anticipation that much clubs are going to follow."

Before joining Milan, Nadim spent 2 years playing for US top-flight women’s broadside Racing Louisville pursuing spells astatine Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain from 2018 to 2021.

In 2021 the nine became the archetypal National Women’s Soccer League outfit to assistance players to entree fertility preservation services including ovum freezing and embryo freezing.

The club’s inaugural was carried successful collaboration with the Kentucky Fertility Institute.

And it is 1 Nadim hopes to spot replicated by different apical tier shot sides.

The Milan guardant adds: "Being capable to frost your eggs gives you a wholly antithetic pathway.

"It's thing that European clubs could see adopting."

Nadim, who was calved successful Herat successful Afghanistan, fled to Denmark with her household successful 2000, erstwhile they discovered the Taliban had executed her father.

The 105-capped Denmark international, began playing shot astatine the property of 12 earlier starting her elder playing vocation successful 2006 with Danish broadside IK Skovbakken (now known arsenic VSK Aarhus).

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

And the forward, who wrote a PhD connected incontinence successful elite women players, hopes to spot much probe done connected the healthcare for pistillate athletes.

Nadim said: "Seeing bigger clubs trying to dainty pistillate players arsenic individuals who person antithetic needs, and trying to physique the operation astir them is beauteous cool.

"That’s wherever we should beryllium heading to".

On the transportation Nadim hopes to assistance her broadside unafraid their archetypal triumph successful Italy's women's top-flight this season.

Their opening 2 games ended arsenic constrictive 1-0 and 2-1 losses to Como and Fiorentina.

She adds: "Milan are trying to build, we privation to build, and it’s enjoyable.

"We’ve got a caller manager and a caller mode we privation to play.

"Our ambitions are to predominate successful games and, step-by-step, go a large squad and vie for championships."