Every baby born in Bologna will be given a free team jersey after the club joined forces with kit manufacturers Macron and the local government.

Children born in the city will each receive one of the tiny shirts, which would normally cost £55, as part of the initiative launched to strengthen the club’s relationship with its fanbase.

The Sin Dall’inizio Forza Bologna (From the Beginning, Forza Bologna) scheme has been running since January and was officially announced earlier this month.

The tops, in Bologna’s famous red and blue, will be given out at some hospitals and registrar offices.

With a population of just under 400,000 in Bologna, it is estimated that around 3,000 shirts will be gifted to newborns across the year.

Bologna CEO Claudio Fenucci said: “This initiative demonstrates the club’s intention to be ever closer to its supporters and the territory, establishing a bond of affection with its new fans from day one.”

Sports Councillor Roberta Li Calzi said: “The city is happy to welcome the newborns into the great family of the Bolognese, a community made up of people, feelings, sports, culture, history and much more. We believe it is important to take care of people and the community and sporting activity is a great way to do it.”

Elsewhere in Serie A, Como kicked off 2025 by continuing their tradition of giving every newborn in the city a club babygrow, while San Marino, the tiny landlocked country near Rimini, also recently set out to inspire a new generation of fans by giving every child born there a national team shirt.

The timing of the move could not be better for Bologna. Vincenzo Italiano’s side are sitting pretty in Serie A, in sixth place having lost just once at home in the league this season, and face Empoli in the semi-final of the Coppa Italia.

This season they played in the Champions League, taking their seat at Europe’s top table for the first time in 60 years.