BANCO BPM MILAN CUP: CATTOLICA HOSTS THE 12th EDITION

From 12 to 14 June, Cattolica will host the 12th edition of the Banco BPM Milan Cup, the event dedicated to young players from AC Milan’s national and international Academy network. Three days of football and education built around a common theme: the #MilanGentile project, created to make kindness part of the game, to be developed both on the pitch and in everyday life through fair-play-inspired behaviour, recognised and rewarded with the same importance as a goal.

Hosting the event for the fourth consecutive year, Cattolica will welcome 700 children representing 52 teams, competing across a total of 200 matches, with the special presence of AC Milan legend Serginho. The spotlight will be on the Under-8 and Under-10 age groups, where sporting development goes hand in hand with personal and emotional growth. Alongside the Italian Academies, the tournament will also feature FC Glattal Dübendorf from Switzerland and AC Milan Academy Craiova from Romania, further highlighting the international reach of the Rossoneri network and its ability to connect Italy with the wider world through youth football.

A range of initiatives will bring the spirit of Milan Gentile to life through tangible actions: inspirational quotes will be displayed around the pitches and walkways of the Sports Centre, while the “Artists of Fair Play” contest will see children’s drawings brought together on the “Wall of Kindness”. In addition, interviews with players from the Men’s and Women’s First Teams and the Youth Sector will be shown on the big screens, focusing on positive support, kindness and fair play. Particular emphasis will be placed on recognising exemplary behaviour. During matches, AC Milan coaches will be able to award a Green Card, a symbolic card celebrating acts of fair play on the pitch. Meanwhile, the Milan Gentile vote will allow coaches to select both the kindest team and the most positive supporters at the tournament, with the winners receiving awards during the closing ceremony.

The same philosophy is reflected in the “Tifo Corretto Rossonero” (Positive Rossoneri Fans) manifesto, aimed at parents, family members and accompanying adults. The initiative extends the values of Milan Gentile beyond the pitch, encouraging applause, positive chants, scarves and flags, while discouraging protests, insults and offensive chanting. In a youth tournament, the true protagonists are the children, and the behaviour of adults on the sidelines becomes an integral part of their educational experience, as well as one of the criteria used to determine the tournament’s most positive supporters.

The Milan Cup brings the Rossoneri Academy season to a close while reaffirming a core principle: in the development journey of young players, values matter just as much as performance. It is a vision that AC Milan continues to promote at every level of its sporting project, together with Banco BPM and the partners supporting the event.