adidas Italia is bringing together the Italian football team AC Milan (for which it is master licensor) and Sanrio's Hello Kitty for a collection of gear aimed at female fans.

"The idea to associate a female soul to a top level male sport came a while ago with AC Milan. Today, and with lots of female fans in the sport, the new collection has a natural target," says Paolo Casarini, licensing director, Sanrio.

Hello Kitty will be pitch-side later this month to launch the co-branded collection at the San Siro football stadium. The line will then launch at other AC Milan stores and online in the second half of the year and will expand beyond Italy to retailers in Asia and Japan.

"Milan has always associated itself with Italian and international companies that represent excellence in their sectors," says Jaap Kalma, commercial director, AC Milan. "For this reason we decided to join forces with a brand like Hello Kitty, a prestigious and important character, highly adored by young people all over the world. In addition, we’re thinking about organizing other initiatives with Hello Kitty and our club mascot Milanello, and we will see them together soon at San Siro with our fans. We’re certain that this character will be liked by the Milan fans and from this we will see several other interesting initiatives."