 | |||
| Full name | Ars et Labor Ferrara | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | I Biancazzurri (The White and Blues)[1] Gli Estensi (TheHouse of Este)[2] | ||
| Founded | March 1907; 118 years ago (1907-03) as Circolo Ars et Labor 2005; 20 years ago (2005) (refounded) 2012; 13 years ago (2012) (refounded) 2025; 0 years ago (2025) (refounded) | ||
| Ground | Stadio Paolo Mazza, Ferrara, Italy | ||
| Capacity | 16,134[3] | ||
| Chairman | Juan Martín Molinari | ||
| Head coach | Stefano Di Benedetto | ||
| League | Eccellenza Emilia-Romagna | ||
| 2024–25 | Serie C Group B, 17th of 20 (excluded) | ||
| Website | www | ||
 Current season | |||
Ars et Labor Ferrara, formerly known asSPAL (Italian pronunciation:[spal]), is a professional football club based inFerrara,Emilia-Romagna,Italy. During the 2024–25 season the team played inSerie C, the third tier of theItalian football league system.
Founded in 1907, since 1928 they have played their home matches atStadio Paolo Mazza, named afterPaolo Mazza (chairman of the club between 1946 and 1977).
In total, SPAL have participated in 24 top-tier, 28 second-tier, 43 third-tier, 7 fourth-tier and 1 fifth-tier league seasons. The club's best finish was when they came fifth in the1959–60 Serie A; they also reached the1961–62Coppa Italia final.
The club was chaired by the American lawyer and businessmanJoe Tacopina and the manager wasFrancesco Baldini until the 2025liquidation, after which the team's legacy is carried on byArs et Labor Ferrara.
The club was founded in March 1907 asCircolo Ars et Labor (Latin forArt and Work Club) by theSalesian priest Pietro Acerbis. In the early stages, it was mainly a cultural and religious association, then in 1913 it became a multi-sports company, taking the name ofSocietà Polisportiva Ars et Labor (a mixture ofItalian andLatin meaningSports Club Society of Art and Work). The team began its professional activity under the aegis of theItalian Football Federation (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio) in 1919, competing in the second-tier tournament.
SPAL played in the top flight league from 1920 to 1925, reaching the qualification playoff for the National Finals in1921–22. From 1925 until theSecond World War, they played inSerie B andSerie C: in this period, the club's all-time top strikerMario Romani scored 130 goals in 189 games during two different periods with the white-blues (1925–32 and 1937–38).
Between 1939 and 1943 the club temporarily changed its name toAssociazione Calcio Ferrara, wearing the black and white colours of the city. After the suspension of the championships due to war, in 1945 the club returned to the name SPAL and to the light blue and white kits.
In 1946Paolo Mazza became chairman of the club. After five consecutive seasons inSerie B, SPAL won promotion toSerie A after finishing the championship first in1950–51. The white-blues subsequently stayed in the top division for most of the 1950s and 1960s, competing in 16 out of 17 Serie A seasons from 1951 to 1968.[4]
SPAL finished fifth in1959–60, thus obtaining the best placement in its history. Also, in1961–62 they played in theCoppa Italia final, losing againstNapoli. In the early stages of1962–63 season, in which the club finished in eighth place, the white and blues reached the top of the league table. During those years, the club was a launchpad for many young players, among themFabio Capello.
In1963–64 they were relegated to Serie B, but they came back to Serie A after only one year, and remained in the top division until 1968. At the end of the last season in the top flight, SPAL won theCup of Italian-Swiss Friendship.
During 1970s, 1980s and 1990s SPAL played mostly inSerie B andSerie C/C1.
Paolo Mazza quit the presidency in December 1976 and was replaced by Primo Mazzanti. The former chairman died in December 1981 and three months laterFerrara'sStadio Comunale was named after him.
In 1990, Giovanni Donigaglia became chairman of the club: between 1990 and 1992 SPAL obtained back-to-back promotions fromSerie C2 to Serie B, under the management ofGiovan Battista Fabbri. Donigaglia left the presidency in 2002 with the squad in Serie C1. He was replaced by Lino di Nardo.
The club went bankrupt in 2005,[5] and were reformed asSPAL 1907, under the terms ofArticle 52 of N.O.I.F.[6] In the summer of 2012, after suffering a second bankruptcy, the club was refounded for the second time asReal SPAL and would begin life inSerie D[7] under the same N.O.I.F. article.[8]
At the end of the2012–13 season the club took back its original name.Giacomense, a club founded in 1967 at Masi San Giacomo, afrazione ofMasi Torello, had moved to the city ofFerrara; on 12 July 2013, owner Roberto Benasciutti made a deal with the Colombarini family for a merger between SPAL andGiacomense, with the latter giving its sports title to SPAL and continuing to play inFerrara. The club initially adopted the name S.P.A.L. 2013, in order to continue the football history of the whiteblues, then they took back the original denomination ofS.P.A.L.. Walter Mattioli became president, with Simone and Francesco Colombarini as main shareholders.
They finished the2013–14 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione season in sixth place, thus qualifying for the inaugural unified2014–15 Lega Pro season. In2015–16, the squad won promotion toSerie B for the first time since the1992–93 season, after finishing first in group B of theLega Pro. Thefollowing year they came first in Serie B, thus obtaining promotion toSerie A after a 49-year absence.[9] In their first season back in Serie A, SPAL avoided relegation by finishing in 17th place.[10] At the end of the2018–19 season they confirmed their presence in the top flight for a third consecutive year, finishing 13th. The club had mixed fortunes in the2019–20 season and, after gaining just 15 points in 23 games, coachLeonardo Semplici was dismissed in February 2020, replaced byLuigi Di Biagio.[11] SPAL were relegated to Serie B, finishing in last place with 20 points. The club reached the2020–21 Coppa Italia quarter-finals, becoming the only team fromSerie B to advance to that stage in the competition.
In August 2021, the club was acquired by the American lawyer and businessmanJoe Tacopina. Some media say that the real owners behind Mr. Tacopina are brothers Alessandro Bazzoni and Lorenzo Bazzoni, Italian businessmen presumed to be linked with the government ofNicolas Maduro.[12][13] SPAL was relegated toSerie C at the end of the 2022–23 season.[14] On 2 January 2024, Tacopina revealed the name of the new co-owner of the club, American broker and businessman Marcello Follano, with whom he founded a new parent company controlling SPAL, Tacollano Holdings LLC.[15] However, on 7 June 2025, SPAL announced that it would not participate in the2025–26 Serie C season, due to ongoing financial strain and the inability to attract new investors, despite having injected around €50 million into the club over the past four years.[16] SPAL eventually went intoliquidation although a new clubArs et Labor Ferrara was founded, for the 2025/2026 season playing in theEccellenza Emilia-Romagna (fifth tier) league.
The team's colours are light blue and white, which derive from theSalesians' emblem. The home kit, since 1962, has been composed of a vertical striped light blue-white shirt, white trainers and white socks. The only exception to light blue and white was when the club adopted a black and white kit between 1939 and 1943 (when it was named A.C. Ferrara), in honour ofFerrara's civic colours.
The team's badge features an oval-shaped light blueescutcheon, with a white band in the upper section, on which is written the acronymS.P.A.L. in golden characters. Also, in the lower section, the black and white emblem of the city is featured. From 1980 until 1995, the official badge featured afawn, another symbol of the club.[17]
SPAL's most common nicknames areBiancazzurri (from the club colours, light blue and white) andEstensi (from theHouse of Este, ancient European noble dynasty that ruledFerrara from 1264 to 1598).[18]
The current home ground of SPAL is the 16,134 seater Stadio Paolo Mazza. The stadium was opened in September 1928 as Stadio Comunale, then took on its current name in February 1982, in honour of the former president of the clubPaolo Mazza, who died two months earlier.
Initially it had a capacity of 4,000. Then, in concomitance with the promotion of SPAL toSerie A, in 1951 it was subjected to a heavy restructuring that brought capacity to 25,000. Between 1960s and 1980s it was renovated again, reducing the number of possible spectators to 22,000 until the mid-2000s.
From 2005 to 2016 the stadium capacity was limited to 7,500 due to safety reasons and cost containment. In 2016–17, after the club's promotion toSerie B and then to Serie A, the stadium was restructured again to match the modern needs of comfort and safety. In the summer of 2018 a further remodeling took place, in order to bring the total capacity from 13,135 seats to 16,134.[19]
Below a chronological list of SPAL captains since 1950.[27]
| Name | Years | Name | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
 Giovanni Emiliani | 1950–53 | Marcello Castoldi | 1953–54 |
| Edoardo Dal Pos | 1954–59 |  Oscar Massei | 1959–61 |
| Sergio Cervato | 1961–65 | Oscar Massei | 1965–68 |
| Carlo Dell'Omodarme | 1968–69 | Enrico Cairoli | Jul. 1969–Oct. 1973 |
| Lucio Mongardi | Oct. 1973–Jun. 1975 | Sergio Reggiani | 1975–76 |
| Ottavio Bianchi | 1976–77 | Franco Pezzato | 1977–79 |
| Mauro Gibellini | 1979–81 | Rosario Rampanti | 1981–82 |
| Mirco Brilli | 1982–83 | Giuseppe De Gradi | 1983–85 |
| Elio Gustinetti | 1985–86 | Fabio Perinelli | 1986–87 |
| Arturo Vianello | 1987–88 | Massimo Pellegrini | 1988–89 |
| Francesco Cini | 1989–90 | Franco Fabbri | 1990–91 |
| Giuseppe Brescia | 1991–93 | Andrea Mangoni | 1993–94 |
| Giuseppe Brescia | 1994–96 | Eugenio Sgarbossa | 1996–97 |
| Fausto Pari | 1997–98 | Alfonso Greco | 1998–99 |
| Massimo Gadda | 1999–00 | Emanuele Cancellato | Jul. 2000–Jan. 2002 |
| Cristian Servidei | Jan. 2002–Jun. 2002 | Francesco Zanoncelli | 2002–03 |
| Manuel Milana | 2003–06 |  David Sesa | 2006–08 |
| Luis Fernando Centi | Jul. 2008–Feb. 2009 | Marco Zamboni | Feb. 2009–Jun. 2012 |
| Davide Marchini | 2012–13 | Massimiliano Varricchio | 2013–14 |
| Nicolas Giani | 2014–17 | Luca Mora | Jul. 2017–Jan. 2018 |
| Mirco Antenucci | Jan. 2018–Jun. 2019 | Sergio Floccari | 2019–21 |
| Francesco Vicari | 2021–22 | Salvatore Esposito | Jul. 2022–Jan. 2023 |
| Lorenzo Dickmann | Jan. 2023–Jun.2023 | Mirco Antenucci | 2023–25 |
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head of technical staff | Alex Casella |
| Head coach | Francesco Baldini |
| Deputy head coach | Luciano Mularoni |
| Technical assistant | Claiton Machado |
| Technical assistant | Emanuele Dogliani |
| Technical assistant | Riccardo Leardi |
| Match analyst | Mario Enrico Braco |
| Goalkeeping coach | Davide Bertaccini |
| Fitness coach | Diego Gemignani |
| Injury recovery | Carlo Oliani |
| Team manager | Alessio Cirulli |
| Head of medical staff | Fabrizio Aggio |
| Physiotherapist | Marcello Bertolani |
| Physiotherapist | Piero Bortolin |
| Physiotherapist | Daniele Zannini |
Source:[1]
SPAL have had several presidents (chairmen) (Italian:presidenti,lit. 'presidents' orItalian:presidenti del consiglio di amministrazione,lit. 'chairmen of the board of directors') over the course of their history. Some of them have been the main shareholder of the club. The longest-serving isPaolo Mazza.[28][29]
| Name | Years | Name | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
 Don Pietro Acerbis | 1907–11 | Conte Buosi | 1911–12 |
| Aminta Gulinati | 1912–15 | Antonio Santini | 1919–21 |
| Enrico Bassani | 1921–24 | Gaetano Ridolfi | 1924–27 |
| Giannino Bonfiglioli | 1927–28 | On. Ferri | 1928–31 |
| Giuseppe Turbiani Carlo Osti | 1931–32 | Comm. Gandini | 1932–33 |
| Umberto Barbè Giulio Divisi | 1933–34 | Luigi Orsi | 1934–35 |
| Giovanni Argazzi | 1935–36 | Nino Fiorini | 1936–37 |
| Angelo Vissoli | 1937–39 | Annio Bignardi | 1939–41 |
| Augusto Caniato | 1941–43 | Edmondo Bucci | 1945–46 |
| Paolo Mazza | 1946–77 | Primo Mazzanti | 1977–85 |
| Giorgio Rossatti | 1985–86 | Francesco Nicolini | 1986–89 |
| Albersano Ravani | 1989–90 | Giovanni Donigaglia | 1990–96 |
| Vanni Guzzinati | 1996–97 | Giovanni Donigaglia | 1997–02 |
| Lino Di Nardo | 2002–05 | Gianfranco Tomasi | 2005–08 |
| Cesare Butelli | 2008–12 | Roberto Ranzani | 2012–13 |
| Walter Mattioli | 2013–21 |  Joe Tacopina | 2021–25 |
SPAL have had many managers and head coaches throughout their history, below is a chronological list of them.[30][29]
| Name | Years | Name | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlo Marchiandi | 1919–22 |  Armand Halmos | 1922–23 |
| Giuseppe Ticozzelli | 1923–24 |  Walter Alt | 1924–27 |
| Carlo Osti Carlo Marchiandi | 1927–28 | Béla Károly | 1928–29 |
| György Hlavay | 1929–31 | Francesco Mattuteia Adolf Mora Murer | 1931–32 |
| Walter Alt | 1933–34 | Mihály Balacics | 1934–35 |
| György Hlavay Guido Testolina | 1935–36 | Paolo Mazza | 1936–37 |
| Euro Riparbelli | 1937–39 | Paolo Mazza | 1939–42 |
| Giorgio Armari Bruno Maini | 1942–43 |  József Viola | Jul. 1945–Jun. 1946 |
| Guido Testolina | Jul. 1946–Jun. 1947 | Giuseppe Marchi | Jul. 1947–Jun. 1948 |
| Bruno Vale | Jul. 1948–Jun. 1949 | Antonio Janni | Jul. 1949–Jun. 1954 |
| Bruno Biagini | Jul. 1954–Jun. 1955 | Fioravante Baldi | Jul. 1955–Jun. 1956 |
| Paolo Tabanelli | Jul. 1956–Jun. 1958 | Fioravante Baldi | Jul. 1958–Apr. 1960 |
| Serafino Montanari | Apr. 1960–Jun. 1960 | Luigi Ferrero | Jul. 1960–Sep. 1961 |
| Serafino Montanari | Sep. 1961–Apr. 1963 | Aurelio Marchese | Apr. 1963–Jun. 1963 |
| Giacomo Blason | Jul. 1963–Apr. 1964 | Giovan Battista Fabbri | Apr. 1964–Nov. 1964 |
| Francesco Petagna | Nov. 1964–Oct. 1968 | Serafino Montanari | Oct. 1968–May 1969 |
| Giovan Battista Fabbri | May 1969–Oct. 1969 | Tito Corsi | Oct. 1969–Jun. 1970 |
| Cesare Meucci | Jul. 1970–Jun. 1972 | Eugenio Fantini | Jul. 1972–Oct. 1972 |
| Mario Caciagli | Oct. 1972–Jan. 1975 | Guido Capello | Jan. 1975–Jun. 1975 |
| Francesco Petagna | Jul. 1975–Dec. 1975 | Umberto Pinardi | Dec. 1975–Feb. 1976 |
| Guido Capello | Feb. 1976–Nov. 1976 | Giovanni Ballico | Nov. 1976–Dec. 1976 |
| Ottavio Bugatti | Dec. 1976–Feb. 1977 |  Luis Suárez | Feb. 1977–Jun. 1977 |
| Mario Caciagli | Jul. 1977–Jun. 1980 | Battista Rota | Jul. 1980–Mar. 1982 |
| Ugo Tomeazzi | Mar. 1982–Jun. 1982 | Gaetano Salvemini | Jul. 1982–Dec. 1982 |
| Giovanni Seghedoni | Dec. 1982–Jun. 1983 | Giovanni Galeone | Jul. 1983–Oct. 1984 |
| Giancarlo Danova | Oct. 1984–Dec. 1984 | Giovanni Galeone | Dec. 1984–Jun. 1986 |
| Ferruccio Mazzola | Jul. 1986–Jun. 1987 | Giancarlo Cella | Jul. 1987–Nov. 1987 |
| Giovan Battista Fabbri | Nov. 1987–Jun. 1988 | Giorgio Veneri | Jul. 1988–Dec. 1988 |
| Francesco Paolo Specchia | Dec. 1988–Jun. 1989 | Luciano Magistrelli | Jul. 1989–Jan. 1990 |
| Nello Santin | Jan. 1990–Jun. 1990 | Paolo Lombardo | Jul. 1990–Feb. 1991 |
| Giovan Battista Fabbri | Feb. 1991–Oct. 1992 | Rino Marchesi | Oct. 1992–Apr. 1993 |
| Giovan Battista Fabbri | Apr. 1993–Jun. 1993 | Gian Cesare Discepoli | Jul. 1993–Jan. 1995 |
| Vincenzo Guerini | Jan. 1995–Sep. 1995 | Salvatore Bianchetti | Sep. 1995–Feb. 1997 |
| Alfredo Magni | Feb. 1997–Jun. 1997 | Gianni De Biasi | Jul. 1997–Jun. 1999 |
| Giancarlo D'Astoli | Jul. 1999–Jun. 2000 | Alessandro Scanziani | Jul. 2000–Nov. 2000 |
| Mauro Melotti | Nov. 2000–Nov. 2001 | Fabio Perinelli | Nov. 2001–Mar. 2002 |
| Mauro Melotti | Mar. 2002–Jun. 2002 | Walter De Vecchi | Jul. 2002–Oct. 2002 |
| Giuliano Sonzogni | Oct. 2002–Oct. 2003 | Gian Cesare Discepoli | Oct. 2003–Jun. 2004 |
| Massimiliano Allegri | Jul. 2004–Jun. 2005 | Paolo Beruatto | Jul. 2005–Feb. 2006 |
| Walter Nicoletti | Feb. 2006–Jun. 2006 | Leonardo Rossi | Jul. 2006–Jun. 2007 |
| Francesco Buglio | Jul. 2007–Feb. 2008 | Roberto Labardi | Feb. 2008 |
| Angelo Alessio | Feb. 2008–Jun. 2008 | Aldo Dolcetti | Jul. 2008–Nov. 2009 |
| Egidio Notaristefano | Nov. 2009–Feb. 2011 | Gian Marco Remondina | Feb. 2011–Jun. 2011 |
| Stefano Vecchi | Jul. 2011–Jun. 2012 | David Sassarini | Jul. 2012–Jun. 2013 |
| Leonardo Rossi | Jul. 2013–Oct. 2013 | Massimo Gadda | Oct. 2013–Jun. 2014 |
| Oscar Brevi | Jul. 2014–Dec. 2014 | Leonardo Semplici | Dec. 2014–Feb. 2020 |
| Luigi Di Biagio | Feb. 2020–Aug. 2020 | Pasquale Marino | Aug. 2020–Mar. 2021 |
| Massimo Rastelli | Mar. 2021–Jun. 2021 | Pep Clotet | Jul. 2021–Jan. 2022 |
| Roberto Venturato | Jan. 2022–Oct. 2022 | Daniele De Rossi | Oct. 2022–Feb. 2023 |
| Massimo Oddo | Feb. 2023–Jun. 2023 | Domenico Di Carlo | Jul. 2023–Oct. 2023 |
| Leonardo Colucci | Oct. 2023–Feb. 2024 | Domenico Di Carlo | Feb. 2024–Jun. 2024 |
| Andrea Dossena | Jul. 2024–Feb. 2025 | Francesco Baldini | Feb. 2025–Jun. 2025 |
| Stefano Di Benedetto | Jul. 2025–present |
Below is a table showing the participation of SPAL in the Italian football leagues.[31]
| Level | Tournament | Participations | Debut season | Last season | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1º | Prima Categoria | 2 | 1920–21 | 1921–22 | 24 |
| Prima Divisione | 3 | 1922–23 | 1924–25 | ||
| Serie A | 19 | 1951–52 | 2019–20 | ||
| 2º | Seconda Divisione | 1 | 1925–26 | 28 | |
| Prima Divisione | 3 | 1926–27 | 1928–29 | ||
| Serie B | 24 | 1933–34 | 2022–23 | ||
| 3º | Prima Divisione | 4 | 1929–30 | 1932–33 | 43 |
| Serie B-C Alta Italia | 1 | 1945–46 | |||
| Serie C | 13 | 1936–37 | 2024–25 | ||
| Serie C1 | 19 | 1982–83 | 2004–05 | ||
| Lega Pro Prima Divisione | 4 | 2008–09 | 2011–12 | ||
| Lega Pro | 2 | 2014–15 | 2015–16 | ||
| 4º | Serie C2 | 6 | 1989–90 | 2007–08 | 7 |
| Lega Pro Seconda Divisione | 1 | 2013–14 | |||
| 5º | Serie D | 1 | 2012–13 | 1 | |
Below is a table showing the recordmen of matches played and goals scored for SPAL in the Italian football leagues.[31]
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Below is a list of titles and cups won by SPAL throughout their history.[28]
