The club was formed in 1936 and currently plays inSerie B, following their victory in the2024–25 Serie C promotion play-offs. Pescara has competed in seven seasons inSerie A,1977–78,1979–80,1987–88,1988–89,1992–93,2012–13 and last participated in2016–17. The team's official colors are white and light blue varied between either azure or sky blue, manifested in striped shirts with white socks and shorts.
Aside from a spell inSerie B in the 1940s, Pescara had a relatively undistinguished history until promotion to Serie B in 1974. With players likeGiorgio Repetto andBruno Nobili in the midfield, they managed to win their first promotion to Serie A in 1977 after winning the promotion play-off, but ultimately finished their first season in Serie A in last place. A second promotion after a play-off followed, but once more they would be relegated from the top flight and then descended to Serie C1 within two years.
The performance of Pescara in the Italian football league structure since the first season of a unified Serie A (1929/30).
Nonetheless, after returning to Serie B after a year, Pescara would enjoy a revival after the appointment ofGiovanni Galeone as coach in 1986. His philosophy of attacking football saw theBiancazzurri promoted to Serie A as champions in 1987, where they lasted two years with players such asJúnior andBlaž Slišković among the club's star players. Galeone would return during the 1990–91 season and oversaw another promotion the following year.
After relegation, Pescara remained in Serie B side throughout the 1990s, narrowly missing promotion in 1999. Relegation to C1 followed in 2001, with promotion in 2003 being followed by two revoked relegations in a row due to bankruptcy and scandals affecting other clubs. Pescara was ultimately relegated in the2006–07 season, with three presidential and managerial changes during the season. In December 2008, the debt-ridden club was legally declared out of business and its control passed to a bankruptcy trustee appointed by the Court of Pescara. In February 2009, a takeover from a group named Delfino Pescara 1936 was finalized with Deborah Caldora becoming the first woman to serve as chairman of the club. In the meantime, results did not improve significantly and in March,Giuseppe Galderisi was dismissed from the head coaching post withAntonello Cuccureddu being appointed as the new boss.
At the beginning of the 2009–10 season,Eusebio Di Francesco was appointed as the new coach. Pescara finished second in Girone B ofLega Pro Prima Divisione and qualified for the promotional play-offs. They defeatedReggiana in the semi-final andVerona in the final and subsequently returned to Serie B after a three-year absence. The following season started with the appointment ofZdeněk Zeman as new head coach; the Czech manager immediately brought Pescara back into national coverage thanks to his well-known all-attacking playing style that turned out to match perfectly with promising youngsters such asMarco Verratti with loaneesCiro Immobile andLorenzo Insigne, who guided the squad to promotion toSerie A. Pescara secured promotion to the top-level after a 19-year absence after defeatingSampdoria with a 3–1 score in an away match on 20 May 2012. In the last minute of the final game of the regular season, Pescara strikerRiccardo Maniero netted the winner in a match againstNocerina to claim Pescara's second Serie B title afterTorino's draw away toAlbinoLeffe.
Pescara's2012–13 campaign in Serie A – after losing Zeman, Verratti, Immobile and Insigne – ended with relegation back to the second tier.[1] Three years later, under World Cup winnerMassimo Oddo, the team returned to Serie A with a 3–1 aggregate win overTrapani in the playoff final.[2] Zeman returned in February 2017 to the team,[3] who again lasted just one year at the top before being relegated in last place.[4]
In August 2018, Pescara launched a public mini-bond investment opportunity via sports investment platform Tifosy to raise a minimum of €2,000,000.[5] The investment scheme raised a total of €2,300,000 to develop the club's youth sector and facilities.[6]
Following an online competition to ease children's boredom during thecoronavirus lockdown, the team adopted six-year-old Luigi D'Agostino's shirt design for the 2020 season.[7]
After a poor2020–21 campaign, the side were relegated toSerie C, the third tier of Italian football. However, during the2024–25 Serie C, Pescara finished 4th in their group, thus qualifying for the second round promotion play-offs, where they would beatPianese to move on to the next round. In the national phase, they would beatCatania in a 2–2 aggregate and went on to beatVis Pesaro in the second round. In the final four, they would beatAudace Cerignola to qualify for the finals, and went on to faceTernana. Although winning the first leg, Ternana would tie the aggregate in the second leg, however, after beating the team 3–1 in penalties, thus securing them promotion to the2025–26 Serie B after 4 years of relegation from the second tier. On their return to Serie B, they debuted on August 23 with a 3–1 loss againstCesena.[8]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.