Over the course of the past season, Casa Milan sealed partnerships with two important Italian museum associations. The first saw Casa Milan team up with the Abbonamenti Musei Lombardia project. This was a way of obtaining accreditation for the Mondo Milan Museum within the region’s wider network of cultural institutions, as well as allowing over 40,000 subscribers in Lombardy to access the museum free of charge. The second partnership was with Museimpresa, a network of museums and company archives. This led to a significant increase in relations with the other museums in the network as well as media sources, universities and research centres. Thanks to the new relationships forged via the network, Mondo Milan has been cited as a successful case study at several workshops organised by the Polytechnic University of Milan, at the Assolombarda headquarters and at a conference on augmented reality held at the Royal Villa of Monza.

In terms of institutional collaborations, one partnership worthy of note was the City of Milan’s sponsorship of the Milano & The Champions temporary exhibition, which was launched to coincide with the UEFA Champions League final being held at San Siro in Milan. To mark this most important of footballing events, the Club was keen to organise an exhibition which profiled the history of the prestigious trophy. With rare memorabilia on show, such as the jerseys worn by Benfica, Celtic and Inter in the two finals contested at San Siro in the 1960s, visitors were able to experience how the tournament itself and indeed the brand around Europe’s foremost football competition have evolved over the years. Among the exhibits displayed were the original rules of the European Cup, written by L’Equipe journalists in 1955, and the score of the famous UEFA Champions League anthem. The highlight of the exhibition, however, was undoubtedly the seven AC Milan jerseys worn by players in each of the Club’s winning appearances in the final of the competition, as well as the ball and shirts used in the final held at San Siro on 28 May 2016.

The Club’s educational initiatives around sporting values were further enhanced with the creation of two new educational workshops for primary and secondary schools. As part of this initiative, students from Italy and abroad are given presentations on nutrition and life as a sportsperson (primary schools) and sport-themed business simulation (secondary schools).

The business simulation workshop was set up in response to recommendations from the Italian Ministry of Education (MIUR), which moved to boost links between school and the world of work after teachers reported that they were having to tackle this area with no direct links with business.

The workshop – which features a lecture-style format – includes a presentation of the latest EURISKO study on the world’s leading football clubs and a critical analysis of marketing in football. The students are thus introduced to the concepts of branding and licensing and the allocation mechanisms by which television rights are shared out. Ultimately, the workshop gives the students a taste of how an international sports club functions on an economic level. After the lecture, the students and teachers use a debate session to focus on the most interesting parts of the presentation and start to lay the foundations for a project based around setting up a company similar to AC Milan or Casa Milan.

In some cases, our work with schools has continued after the visit itself, with support provided to teachers as the simulation project progresses.

Our commitment to education has seen several youth teams from Italy and abroad participate in the workshops and visit the museum.

In addition to this, the winter season saw the launch of Casa Milan Junior Club. Open every afternoon, this playroom is free for all children up to the age of 12. Children can choose between a wide range of activities including games and reading, while a special entertainment service is laid on for smaller children up to the age of six. The playroom is stocked with certified child-safe games and equipped with toilets, a baby-change unit and a cloakroom. A children’s entertainer is on duty every day.

Casa Milan Junior Club has become a popular venue for the birthday parties of young Rossoneri fans. Parents can use our booking system to request exclusive use of the space, book an entertainer to organise games for the kids, schedule a museum tour and organise for the restaurant to bake a birthday cake, all in the company of the Club’s mascot Milanello. Following its launch, nearly 30 birthday parties were held at Casa Milan Junior Club in six months.

** Figure refers to a four-month period.
*** Figure refers to a nine-month period.

In light of the success of the Club’s recreational and educational activities for young people, we also launched a programme for summer camps in June and July, with the creation of a shady external play area with a synthetic football pitch. This initiative was also sponsored by the City of Milan.

The museum’s focus on art continued over the course of the 2015/2016 season, following the opening of Casa Milan Gallery last year. Situated next to the store, the space is dedicated to contemporary art and features a series of temporary exhibitions whose objective it is to give visibility to young Milanese artists. Five brand-new talents were given the chance to showcase their AC Milan-themed work in the exclusive setting of the Club’s headquarters, with the initiative coinciding with important local events such as the Milan Furniture Fair.