 | |
| Organising body | Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1935; 90 years ago (1935)[a] |
| Country | Italy |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Divisions | 3 |
| Number of clubs | 60 |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Promotion to | Serie B |
| Relegation to | Serie D |
| Domestic cup | Coppa Italia |
| League cup(s) | Supercoppa di Serie C Coppa Italia Serie C |
| Current champions | Padova (Group A) Virtus Entella (Group B) Avellino (Group C) (2024–25) |
| Most championships | Prato (6 titles) |
| Broadcaster(s) | Sky Sport Now Rai Sport FIFA+ (outside Italy) |
| Website | lega-pro.com |
| Current:2025–26 Serie C | |
TheSerie C (Italian pronunciation:[ˈsɛːrjeˈtʃi][1]), officially known asSerie C Sky Wifi forsponsorship purposes,[2] is the third-highest division in theItalian football league system after theSerie B andSerie A. TheLega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that operates the Serie C.
The unification of theLega Pro Prima Divisione and theLega Pro Seconda Divisione as Lega Pro Divisione Unica (often also abbreviated as Lega Pro) in 2014[3] reintroduced the format of the original Serie C that existed between 1935 and 1978 (before the split into Serie C1 and Serie C2). In May 2017, the Lega Pro assembly unanimously approved renaming the competition to its original name, Serie C.[4]
A third division above the regional leagues was first created in Italy in 1926, when fascist authorities decided to reform the major championships on a national basis, increasing the number of teams participating by promoting many regional teams from the Third Division (Terza Divisione) to the Second Division (Seconda Divisione).
A new league running this Second Division, theDirettorio Divisioni Inferiori Nord (Northern Directory of Lower Divisions) was set up inGenoa, while football activity in the southern part of the country was run by theDirettorio Divisioni Inferiori Sud which later became theDirettorio Meridionale (Southern Directory). These leagues did not last long; after another reform they were disbanded between 1930 and 1931. Some bigger clubs who owned large pitches with dimensions of 100x60 metres were promoted to the First Division (Prima Divisione); a league defined and structured as the "National Championship".
The Second Division had no relegations to regional leagues as most teams were reelected at the beginning of each new season. Once a critical threshold was reached the Italian federation decided to close the two leagues and move all teams to the "Direttori Regionali" (Regional Committees) so that the labour-intensive job of organisation was delegated to more efficient and organised regional staff.
The most successful teams coming from the Second Divisions in 5 years (from 1926–27 to 1930–31) composed 6 ever-growing sections of the First Division (Prima Divisione) which at the beginning had just a few teams in just one section from southern Italy.
This championship was organized by the same league governingSerie A andSerie B (the "Direttorio Divisioni Superiori"), even if, as opposed to the two higher divisions, it was structured in local groups with geographical criteria. The number of clubs belonging to the Prima Divisione continued to increase every year, until FIGC decided to rename itSerie C (at the beginning of the 1935–36 season) while a subsequent large reduction in 1948 led to the creation of a sole national division in 1952–53.
The reform that created the actual league was decided by Bruno Zauli in 1959 as he built on the incomplete work started by the former president Ottorino Barassi to make professional football fully recognised and organised. WhileLega Calcio had a stated mission of organising professional and national divisions, the newLega Nazionale Semiprofessionisti based inFlorence had to regulate the two semiprofessional and subnational divisions:Serie C andSerie D, with the first one adopting a format of three groups of 20 teams each. In 1978 the semiprofessional sector was abolished; Serie D became an amateur section while Serie C was divided into two professional divisions (Serie C1 andSerie C2), and the league changed its name toLega Professionisti Serie C. On 20 June 2008, the league was restructured and took its current nameLega Italiana Calcio Professionistico.
After the league reform of 2014, the two previous divisions ofLega Pro Prima Divisione andLega Pro Seconda Divisione were ultimately merged into a new league; theLega Pro Divisione Unica or more informally addressed as justLega Pro. This is the league structure currently in operation; comprising 60 teams that are divided geographically in three groups of 20 each. At the end of each season, four teams are promoted toSerie B (three group winners, plus one coming from a promotion playoff involving the three group runners-up). Meanwhile, nine teams are relegated toSerie D: the last-placed team from each group go down directly, whereas teams between 16th and 19th from each group place play a relegation playoff (officially referred to asplay-out), with the two losing teams from each group also relegated.
In May 2017, the Lega Pro assembly unanimously approved the return to the original name Serie C.[4] The2017–18 Serie C season includes 19 teams in each of the three divisions after adjustments were made for excluded clubs.[5]
Serie C is composed of 60 teams divided equally into three groups split horizontally in geographical terms, from north to south. During the regular season, teams play in around-robin format solely within their group, with the two halves of the season having exactly the same order of fixtures. Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. At the end of the regular season one table per group is determined, based on points. If two or more teams are tied on points, the following tie-breaking criteria apply:[6]
A total of 4 teams are promoted toSerie B and 9 teams are relegated toSerie D. The winner team of each group is directly promoted and qualifies forSupercoppa di Serie C. Teams which have finished in the bottom of the league are directly relegated. The other divisional changes are determined through a complex system of promotion and relegation play-offs.
28 teams compete to achieve the only available spot for Serie B. 27 of them are the teams which have finished in the 2nd to 10th positions (9 per group). The 28th team is the winner ofCoppa Italia Serie C.[6] There are a total of six rounds:
First round andSecond round consist in single-leg games and, if teams are tied after regular time, the higher-placed team advances. 6 teams (2 per group) advance to the next round.
Third round andQuarter-finals consist in two-legged games, with seeded team playing at home for second leg, and, if teams are tied on aggregate, the seeded team advances. The four winning teams reach theFinal four, composed of:
Final four fixtures are drawn, all games are two-legged and, if teams are tied on aggregate, the winner is decided by extra-time and a penalty shootout if required.
In order to determine thebest-placed team, the following criteria apply:
| Phase | Round | Clubs remaining | Clubs involved | From previous round | Entries in this round | Teams entering at this round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group phase | First round | 28 | 18 | none | 18 | Teams in the 5th to 10th positions |
| Second round | 19 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 4th-placed teams | |
| National phase | Third round | 13 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3rd-placed teams andCoppa Italia Serie C winner |
| Quarter-finals | 8 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2nd-placed teams | |
| Final four | Semi-finals | 4 | 4 | 4 | none | |
| Final | 2 | 2 | 2 | none |
If the winner of Coppa Italia Serie C:
The number of teams that play the relegation playoffs, usually referred to asplay-out in Italian, can vary. Usually, fixtures pair the 16th v 19th and 17th vs 18th-placed teams. Matches are two-legged, the higher-placed team plays at home for second leg and, if teams are tied on aggregate, the lower-placed team is relegated to Serie D.[6] However, if the higher-placed team finishes nine or more points ahead of the lower-placed team,play-out is cancelled and the team is relegated directly.
To encourage the development of homegrown players, all Lega Pro clubs were capped to use no more than 16 players in their squads that were older than 23 years of age (in 2019–20 season, player born before 1 January 1997), plus two wildcards for long serving players of the clubs. The clubs could use an unlimited number of under-23 players.[7]
10 teams fromLombardy, 6 teams fromVeneto, 2 teams fromPiedmont, 1 team fromFriuli-Venezia Giulia and 1 team fromTrentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol.
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlbinoLeffe | Albino andLeffe | AlbinoLeffe Stadium(Zanica) | 1,791 |
| Alcione | Milan | Stadio Breda(Sesto San Giovanni) | 3,523 |
| Arzignano Valchiampo | Arzignano | Dal Molin | 1,690 |
| Atalanta U23 | Bergamo | Comunale di Caravaggio(Caravaggio) | 2,180 |
| Caldiero Terme | Caldiero | Mario Gavagnin-Sinibaldo Nocini(Verona) | 1,500 |
| Feralpisalò | Salò andLonato del Garda | Stadio Lino Turina(Salò) | 2,364 |
| Giana Erminio | Gorgonzola | Città di Gorgonzola | 3,766 |
| Lecco | Lecco | Stadio Rigamonti-Ceppi | 5,508 |
| Lumezzane | Lumezzane | Tullio Saleri | 4,150 |
| Novara | Novara | Silvio Piola | 17,875 |
| Padova | Padua | Euganeo | 32,420 |
| Pergolettese | Crema | Giuseppe Voltini | 4,095 |
| Pro Patria | Busto Arsizio | Carlo Speroni | 5,000 |
| Pro Vercelli | Vercelli | Silvio Piola | 5,526 |
| Renate | Renate | Città di Meda(Meda) | 2,500 |
| Trento | Trento | Briamasco | 3,000 |
| Triestina | Trieste | Nereo Rocco | 26,566 |
| Union Clodiense Chioggia | Chioggia | Mario Sandrini(Legnago) | 2,152 |
| Vicenza | Vicenza | Romeo Menti | 17,163 |
| Virtus Verona | Verona | Mario Gavagnin-Sinibaldo Nocini | 1,500 |
4 teams fromTuscany, 3 teams fromEmilia-Romagna, 3 teams fromUmbria, 2 teams fromAbruzzo, 2 teams fromLiguria, 2 teams fromMarche, 1 team fromSardinia, 1 team fromLombardy, 1 team fromVeneto and 1 team fromMolise.
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arezzo | Arezzo | Città di Arezzo | 13,128 |
| Ascoli | Ascoli Piceno | Cino e Lillo Del Duca | 12,461 |
| Campobasso | Campobasso | Nuovo Romagnoli | 21,800 |
| Carpi | Carpi | Sandro Cabassi | 5,510 |
| Gubbio | Gubbio | Pietro Barbetti | 4,939 |
| Legnago | Legnago | Mario Sandrini | 2,152 |
| Lucchese | Lucca | Porta Elisa | 12,800 |
| Milan Futuro | Milan | Comunale(Solbiate Arno) | 4,500 |
| Perugia | Perugia | Renato Curi | 23,625 |
| Pescara | Pescara | Adriatico – Giovanni Cornacchia | 20,515 |
| Pianese | Piancastagnaio | Comunale | 1,500 |
| Pineto | Pineto | Pavone-Mariani | 1,500 |
| Pontedera | Pontedera | Ettore Mannucci | 2,700 |
| Rimini | Rimini | Romeo Neri | 9,768 |
| Sestri Levante | Sestri Levante | Stadio Alberto Picco(La Spezia) | 11,466 |
| SPAL | Ferrara | Paolo Mazza | 16,134 |
| Torres | Sassari | Vanni Sanna | 7,480 |
| Ternana | Terni | Libero Liberati | 17,460 |
| Virtus Entella | Chiavari | Comunale di Chiavari | 5,587 |
| Vis Pesaro | Pesaro | Tonino Benelli | 4,898 |
7 teams fromCampania, 5 teams fromPuglia, 3 teams fromSicily, 2 teams fromBasilicata, 1 team fromLazio, 1 team fromCalabria and 1 team fromPiedmont.
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audace Cerignola | Cerignola | Domenico Monterisi | 7,453 |
| Avellino | Avellino | Partenio-Adriano Lombardi | 26,000 |
| Benevento | Benevento | Ciro Vigorito | 16,867 |
| Casertana | Caserta | Alberto Pinto | 12,000 |
| Catania | Catania | Angelo Massimino | 20,204 |
| Cavese | Cava de' Tirreni | Simonetta Lamberti | 5,200 |
| Crotone | Crotone | Ezio Scida | 16,640 |
| Foggia | Foggia | Pino Zaccheria | 25,085 |
| Giugliano | Giugliano in Campania | Alberto De Cristofaro | 6,044 |
| Juventus Next Gen | Turin | Giuseppe Moccagatta(Alessandria) | 5,926 |
| Latina | Latina | Domenico Francioni | 9,310 |
| Messina | Messina | San Filippo-Franco Scoglio | 38,722 |
| Monopoli | Monopoli | Vito Simone Veneziani | 6,880 |
| Picerno | Picerno | Donato Curcio | 1,500 |
| Potenza | Potenza | Alfredo Viviani | 4,977 |
| Sorrento | Sorrento | Italia | 3,600 |
| Taranto | Taranto | Erasmo Iacovone | 27,584 |
| Team Altamura | Altamura | Franco Fanuzzi(Brindisi) | 7,462 |
| Trapani | Trapani | Provinciale | 7,000 |
| Turris | Torre del Greco | Amerigo Liguori | 3,566 |
This is the complete list of the clubs that took part in the 38 Serie C seasons played from the1935–36 season until the1977–78 season (participation in the editions of the1945–46,1946–47 and1947–48 seasons, championships that due to World War II, are excluded from the list as they were divided into two completely independent leagues), the three Lega Pro seasons played from the2014–15 season until the2016–17 season, and from the2017–18 season. The teams in bold competed in Serie C in the 2021–22 season.
For Serie C1 and Lega Pro Prima Divisione winners, seeLega Pro Prima Divisione and for Serie C2 and Lega Pro Seconda Divisione winners, seeLega Pro Seconda Divisione between 1978–79 and 2013–14
