 | |
| Organising body | Lega B |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1929; 96 years ago (1929) (pilot in 1922) |
| Country | Italy |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of clubs | 20 |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Promotion to | Serie A |
| Relegation to | Serie C |
| Domestic cup(s) | Coppa Italia |
| Current champions | Parma (1st title) (2023–24) |
| Most championships | Genoa (6 titles) |
| Most appearances | Luigi Cagni (483) |
| Top goalscorer | Stefan Schwoch (135) |
| TV partners | LaB Channel DAZN |
| Website | legab.it |
| Current:2024–25 Serie B | |
TheSerie B (Italian pronunciation:[ˈsɛːrjeˈbi][1]), officially known asSerieBKT for sponsorship reasons,[2] is the second-highest division in theItalian football league system after theSerie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the1929–30 season. It had been organized byLega Calcio until 2010 and theLega B ever since. Common nicknames for the league arecampionato cadetto andcadetteria, sincecadetto is the Italian name for junior orcadet.
The firstItalian football championships were composed of a small number of teams. It was in 1904 that the tournament expanded with the first edition of theSeconda Categoria (Second Category): this was a competition in which, on one side, the reserve teams of clubs affiliated with thePrima Categoria (First Category) participated, and on the other side, those provincial clubs that had recently joined theItalian Football Federation (FIGC).
For the provincial teams, it wasn't enough to beat the reserve teams of the metropolitan clubs by winning the second-tier championship: they had to prove to a Federal Technical Commission that they had acquired a sufficient level of technical ability to compete with the first-team players of the Prima Categoria. Therefore, they were required to demonstrate this in a unique test match, not comparable to a play-off, a match against a Prima Categoria team in front of prominent football figures of the time. The first team to reach the honour, wasPro Vercelli in 1907, which even won thescudetto in1908.
The status quo was challenged by a federal official with a letter published in the football columns ofLa Gazzetta dello Sport in February 1912: according to him, there was no movement between the Prima Categoria and the Seconda Categoria, which had to bear the expenses of an entire season only to see them wasted by a single match against the reserve teams of the larger clubs. The official proposed the introduction of apromotion-relegation system, which immediately gained the support of many clubs. As a result, several proposals for changes to the current Championship Regulations were drawn up in preparation for the annual Federal Assembly. This mechanism was introduced by the Federal Assembly on August 31, 1912, where the Valvassori-Faroppa plan was approved. This plan modified theItalian football pyramid, turning the Seconda Categoria into the newPromozione (Promotion) championship and creating a dedicated championship for Reserve teams. Just as the Seconda Categoria had been managed in the past, the Promozione was entrusted to the Regional Committees, which theFIGC had established in 1909.
It wasn’t until 1921 that the Pozzo Plan, made by managerVittorio Pozzo, created a true national second-tier league by establishing theSeconda Divisione (Second Division), a tournament in which all the clubs affected by the heavy trimming of the Prima Categoria, now renamedPrima Divisione (First Division), participated. The new introduced regulations, strongly supported by the secessionistItalian Football Confederation (CCI) (which applied them starting in the1921–22 season) and approved along with the Pozzo Plan, involved the division of Italy into two large geographical areas, managed by the North and South Leagues, with a sharp cut at the center of the country. This meant teams fromTuscany played in the North, and those fromMarche andUmbria played in the South. As a result, the Seconda Divisione experienced two different sets of rules, due to the stark geographical and organizational differences: in the North, the league was organized outside the regional framework directly by theLega Nord, while in the South, it was still managed by the Regional Committees because the distances and means of transportation didn’t allow for interregional league management. Only in the1925–26 season did the Lega Sud of major clubs organized the regional Seconda Divisione groups directly. The first teams to be relegated (1921-22 season) wereVicenza andInter Milan even if, after the CCI reunion with FIGC, the regulations were changed, andVenezia was demoted instead of the Milanese club.
In the north, the new competition started in the1922–23 season with 48 teams divided into six groups, structured at the interregional level but still vaguely corresponding to the jurisdictions of the regional committees. By1924–25, the number dropped to 40 teams and four groups, now geographically more extensive. In the south, not all Regional Committees managed to organize the Seconda Divisione championship immediately, which was especially difficult in the island regions, where the number of regulation-sized fields was minimal. The first season saw about 25 teams participating, and by the following season, this increased to 40, but problems related to the particularly troubled political era began to emerge. Few clubs managed to complete all four championships organized by the Lega Sud between1922–23 and1925–26 due to high operating costs.
In 1926, the Viareggio Charter renamed the top league toDivisione Nazionale (National Division), consequently renaming the lower categories, with the Seconda Divisione becoming the Prima Divisione. The two bodies managing the tournament, the Lega Nord and Lega Sud, were merged into a national governing body called theDirettorio Divisioni Superiori (Directory of Higher Divisions). This led to one of the groups being reserved forsouthern clubs, with manynorthern teams effectively relegated by default.
The far-reaching reform envisioned by the Viareggio Charter was completed in 1928 by the new FIGC president, thefascist politician fromBologna,Leandro Arpinati. The influential politician established the creation of a radically different second-tier league within a year, meaning no longer an interregional tournament but a single national group, exactly like the one planned for the top league. Thus, in 1929, the Serie B of the Divisione Nazionale was born.[3] The establishment of a single group for the second-tier league sparked protests from smaller clubs, who complained about the high travel costs for matches across the entire country and the lower gate receipts compared to the top league. They unsuccessfully proposed expanding the first edition of Serie B of the Divisione Nazionale to two groups based on territorial criteria, admitting the semifinalists of the southern Prima Divisione championship by default. The two-group formula would have reduced the high operating costs of participating in the second-tier league and given more representation to the central and southern teams. However, the proposal was not accepted, and Serie B remained a single group.[4]
The first edition saw 18 teams registered, a format that remained unchanged until the1933–34 season, when an attempt was made to divide into two groups based on geography (west and east). However, this experiment was unsuccessful, and in1935–36, the original model was reinstated, which, except for an attempt to reduce the number of teams between1936 and1938, continued until the break caused byWorld War II.
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In the immediatepost-war years, the colossal wartime destruction and widespread poverty made it impossible to immediately restart the competition. The tournament developed with different formats between the two areas of the country, north and south. In the1946–47 and1947–48 seasons, the Serie B was played with a three-group format (geographically divided into northwest, northeast, and central-south). In the1948–49 season, theFIGC finally managed to recreate a single group with 22 teams, reduced again to 18 teams in the1952–53 season. In the1958–59 season, the league was expanded to 20 teams, a format that, except for one occasion (the1967–68 season, with 21 teams due to the reduction from 18 to 16 Serie A teams), remained unchanged for 35 years.
It was the consequences of the so-called "Caso Catania" in the2003–04 season that disrupted this consolidated tradition and brought the number of participating teams to a record high of 24, later reduced to 22 the following year.
From 1946, both Serie A and Serie B were ran byLega Calcio. However, on 30 April 2009, after divisions between Serie A and Serie B clubs regarding the future of the league, 19 of 20 top-flight clubs (the only exception beingLecce) agreed on plans to split from Serie B to form another governing and financing body.[5] Subsequently, on 1 July 2010, the Lega Calcio has officially ceased to exist and was replaced by the two newly formed leagues,Lega Serie A andLega Serie B.[6]
In the2018–19 season, due to the bankruptcy ofAvellino,Bari, andCesena to register, and the inability to quickly relegate teams (by the deadline for presenting the 2018–19 season fixtures), the second-tier league once again had an odd number of teams, dropping from 22 to 19. By FIGC order, in the2019–20 season, the league returned to having 20 teams, a format that had been in place from 1968 to 2003.[7]
The second-tier league, following the example of the top division, introduced theVAR system: from2018 to2021, it was used only for the play-offs and play-outs, while starting from the2021–22 season, it was implemented for the entire regular season.
Serie B is the lowest division in which five historic clubs have ever played:Torino,Juventus,Milan,Roma andLazio.
The single group format established in the1929–30 season is identical to theSerie A (the immediately higher category): around-robin group with home and away matches between the twenty participating teams for 38 games. Three points are awarded to the winner of the match, one point each for a draw, and no points for the losing team.[8] The regulations provide for three promotions to the top tier, against four relegations toSerie C.[9] The top two teams are automatically promoted; the last promotion is instead decided through the playoffs, in which teams ranked from 3rd to 8th place participate, unless there is a gap of more than 14 points between the 3rd and 4th place teams: in this case, the playoffs will not be played, and the 3rd place team will be promoted directly toSerie A. Conversely, the teams ranked 18th to 20th are directly relegated; the last relegation is decided by a play-out between the 16th and 17th placed teams, unless the 17th place is more than 5 points behind the 16th place: in this case, the play-out will not be played, and the 17th place team will be directly relegated toSerie C.[10] Starting from the 2005-06 season, the "head-to-head" ranking is used to determine the final classification in the event of a tie.
Since the2006–07 season, Serie B introduced an on-field award ceremony for the first-place team, which is presented with a dedicated trophy. Until the2019–20 season, the winning team of the tournament received theAli della Vittoria (Wings of Victory) cup. After an interim season, starting from the2021–22 season, the new "Nexus Cup" was introduced; a smaller version of this cup is also awarded to the second-place team and the winner of the playoffs.[11]
Below is a complete record of how many teams played in each season throughout the league's history:
Play-offs were introduced in Serie B in the2004–05 season to determine the third team promoted to Serie A.
The original formula provided for the participation of four teams (from 3rd to 6th place) who faced each other in semifinals and finals (both based on home and away matches). If the gap between the 3rd and 4th place teams was greater than nine points, the third-place team would be directly promoted to Serie A; otherwise, the play-offs would take place. In the2012–13 season, there was a change in the final regulation: extra time was abolished in the away leg if the score was tied after 180 minutes.
In the2013–2014 season, the play-off bracket was expanded to include a maximum of six teams (from 3rd to 8th place), which had to be within a fourteen-point margin. As a result, the number of clubs participating in the promotion play-offs could vary, and thus the structure of the tournament changed depending on how many teams were involved. The third-place team would still be directly promoted if it had a gap of more than 9 points from the fourth place.
From the2017–2018 season onwards, the play-offs involve teams ranked from 3rd to 8th place (without considering the gap between them), but the point difference between the 3rd and 4th place teams must not exceed fourteen points (instead of nine). The format is no longer variable based on the number of participating teams.
The current format is as follows:
Play-outs were introduced in the2003–04 season to determine the fourth team relegated to Serie C: the bottom three teams are directly relegated, followed by the fourth-to-last team if the gap from the fifth-to-last team exceeds four points (5 points in the 2003–04 season). Otherwise, the play-out takes place with a home and away match: in the event of a draw in the final score, the fifth-to-last placed team at the end of the season retains its place in Serie B. Only if the two teams have finished the season with the same points in the standings, starting from the 2015–16 season, the away match includes extra time and possibly penalty kicks. Just like in the play-offs, the away goals rule does not apply in the play-out.
This is the complete list of the 144 clubs that have taken part in the 91 Serie B seasons played from the1929–30 season until the2024–25 season.[12][a]
The teams inbold compete in Serie B in the 2024–25 season. The teams initalics represent defunct teams. The year in parentheses represents the most recent year of participation at this level.
This championship was organized by geographical criteria with only Northern Italy Serie B and the best Northern ItalySerie C teams taking part. Southern Italy Serie B teams took part to1945–46 Serie A. For this reason, this championship is not included in the statistics.
a Not promoted for Serie A reduction.
b Modena and Novara were both awarded champions in 1937–38.
c Six teams were promoted in 2003–04 due to the expansion of Serie A from 18 to 20 teams.
Updated as of 2023–24 season
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genoa | 6 | 2 | 1935, 1953, 1962, 1973, 1976, 1989 |
| Atalanta | 5 | 3 | 1940, 1959, 1984, 2006, 2011 |
| Palermo | 5 | 2 | 1932, 1948, 1968, 2004, 2014 |
| Bari | 4 | 6 | 1935, 1942, 1946, 2009 |
| Brescia | 4 | 6 | 1965, 1992, 1997, 2019 |
| Hellas Verona | 3 | 5 | 1957, 1982, 1999 |
| Como | 3 | 3 | 1949, 1980, 2002 |
| Torino | 3 | 2 | 1960, 1990, 2001 |
| Varese | 3 | 1 | 1964, 1970, 1974 |
| Vicenza | 3 | 1 | 1955, 1977, 2000 |
| Fiorentina | 3 | – | 1931, 1939, 1994 |
| Novara | 3 | 3 | 1927, 1938, 1948 |
| Empoli | 3 | 1 | 2005, 2018, 2021 |
| Napoli | 2 | 3 | 1946, 1950 |
| Venezia | 2 | 3 | 1961, 1966 |
| Lecce | 2 | 2 | 2010, 2022 |
| Pescara | 2 | 2 | 1987, 2012 |
| Udinese | 2 | 2 | 1956, 1979 |
| Ascoli | 2 | 1 | 1978, 1986 |
| Bologna | 2 | 1 | 1988, 1996 |
| Livorno | 2 | 1 | 1933, 1937 |
| Salernitana | 2 | 1 | 1947, 1998 |
| Lucchese | 2 | – | 1936, 1947 |
| Milan | 2 | – | 1981, 1983 |
| Sampierdarenese | 2 | – | 1934, 1941 |
| SPAL | 2 | – | 1951, 2017 |
| Modena | 1 | 4 | 1943 |
| Pisa | 1 | 4 | 1985 |
| Cagliari | 1 | 3 | 2016 |
| Padova | 1 | 3 | 1948 |
| Lazio | 1 | 2 | 1969 |
| Parma | 1 | 2 | 2024 |
| Perugia | 1 | 2 | 1975 |
| Pro Patria | 1 | 2 | 1947 |
| Alessandria | 1 | 1 | 1946 |
| Catania | 1 | 1 | 1954 |
| Foggia | 1 | 1 | 1991 |
| Frosinone | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mantova | 1 | 1 | 1971 |
| Piacenza | 1 | 1 | 1995 |
| Reggiana | 1 | 1 | 1993 |
| Sampdoria | 1 | 1 | 1967 |
| Siena | 1 | 1 | 2003 |
| Ternana | 1 | 1 | 1972 |
| Benevento | 1 | – | 2020 |
| Carpi | 1 | – | 2015 |
| Casale | 1 | – | 1930 |
| Chievo | 1 | – | 2008 |
| Juventus | 1 | – | 2007 |
| Messina | 1 | – | 1963 |
| Roma | 1 | – | 1952 |
| Sassuolo | 1 | – | 2013 |
| Triestina | 1 | – | 1958 |
| Spezia | 1 | – | 1929 |
| Legnano | – | 4 | – |
| Catanzaro | – | 2 | – |
| Cesena | – | 2 | – |
| Cremonese | – | 2 | – |
| Crotone | – | 2 | – |
| Lecco | – | 2 | – |
| Pistoiese | – | 1 | – |
| Treviso | – | 1 | – |
Updated as of 2023–24 season
| Region | Titles | Winning club(s) (titles) |
|---|---|---|
 Lombardia | 20 | Atalanta (6),Brescia (4),Como (3),Varese (3),Milan (2),Mantova (1),Pro Patria (1) |
 Toscana | 12 | Empoli (3),Fiorentina (3),Livorno (2),Lucchese (2),Pisa (1),Siena (1) |
 Emilia-Romagna | 10 | Bologna (2),SPAL (2),Carpi (1),Modena (1),Parma (1),Piacenza (1),Reggiana (1),Sassuolo (1) |
 Veneto | 10 | Hellas Verona (3),Vicenza (3),Venezia (2),Chievo (1),Padova (1) |
 Liguria | 9 | Genoa (6),Sampierdarenese (2),Sampdoria (1),Spezia (1) |
 Piemonte | 8 | Torino (3),Novara (3),Alessandria (1),Casale (1),Juventus (1) |
 Puglia | 7 | Bari (4),Lecce (2),Foggia (1) |
 Sicilia | 7 | Palermo (5),Catania (1),Messina (1) |
 Campania | 5 | Salernitana (2),Napoli (2),Benevento (1) |
 Friuli-Venezia Giulia | 3 | Udinese (2),Triestina (1) |
 Lazio | 3 | Frosinone (1),Lazio (1),Roma (1) |
 Abruzzo | 2 | Pescara (2) |
 Marche | 2 | Ascoli (2) |
 Umbria | 2 | Perugia (1),Ternana (1) |
 Sardinia | 1 | Cagliari (1) |
Updated as of 2023–24 season
Updated as of 2023–24 season
| Region | Promotions | Promoted clubs (263) |
|---|---|---|
| Lombardia | 52 | Atalanta (12),Brescia (12),Como (6),Cremonese (5),Varese (4),Legnano (3),Mantova (3),Lecco (2),Milan (2),Pro Patria (2),Monza (1) |
| Veneto | 29 | Hellas Verona (10),Venezia (7),Vicenza (5),Padova (4),Chievo (2),Treviso (1) |
| Emilia-Romagna | 28 | Modena (5),Cesena (5),Bologna (4),Parma (4),Piacenza (3),SPAL (3),Reggiana (2),Carpi (1),Sassuolo (1) |
| Toscana | 27 | Empoli (7),Livorno (6),Pisa (5),Fiorentina (4),Lucchese (2),Siena (2),Pistoiese (1) |
| Puglia | 26 | Bari (11),Lecce (10),Foggia (5) |
| Liguria | 16 | Genoa (9),Sampdoria (4)Sampierdarenese (2)Spezia (1) |
| Sicilia | 16 | Palermo (9),Catania (5),Messina (2) |
| Piemonte | 14 | Torino (6),Novara (4),Alessandria (2),Casale (1),Juventus (1) |
| Campania | 11 | Napoli (5),Salernitana (3),Benevento (2),Avellino (1) |
| Lazio | 9 | Lazio (5),Frosinone (3),Roma (1) |
 Calabria | 7 | Catanzaro (3),Reggina (2),Crotone (2) |
| Friuli-Venezia Giulia | 7 | Udinese (6),Triestina (1) |
| Marche | 7 | Ascoli (5),Ancona (2) |
| Sardinia | 7 | Cagliari (7) |
| Abruzzo | 6 | Pescara (6) |
| Umbria | 5 | Perugia (3),Ternana (2) |
| Year | MVP of the Season | MVP of the Playoffs | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 |  Massimo Coda (Lecce) |  Christian Gytkjaer (Monza) | [13][14] |
| 2022-23 |  Gianluca Lapadula (Cagliari) | Leonardo Pavoletti (Cagliari) | [15][16] |
| 2023-24 | Patrick Cutrone (Como) | – | [17] |
From the1998–99 season[18] to the2009–10 season, Serie B used its first commercial name, Serie BTIM, following a sponsorship agreement withTIM, an Italian telecommunications company, which involved all the competitions organized byLega Calcio.
Starting from the2010–11 season, following the division within the Lega Calcio and the creation of the newLega Serie B, the second tier of Italian football began managing its own search for title sponsors. The league adopted various commercial names, including: Seriebwin (2010–2013), Serie BEurobet (2013–2014),[19] Serie B ConTe.it (2015–2018), SerieBKT (since 2018).[20] In the2014–15 season, the play-off and play-out rounds received an additional sponsor: Compass, which led to the names Playoff Compass and Playout Compass for those phases of the competition.
Furthermore, in the2013–2014 season, Serie B introduced a single top sponsor for all teams participating in the league, which appeared on the back of the players' jerseys for the first time.[21] This sponsorship was repeated in the2014–15 and2018–19 seasons.
| Period | Title sponsor | Play-off and Play-out sponsor | Top sponsor | Other sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-2010 | Serie BTIM | – | – | – |
| 2010-2013 | Seriebwin | – | – | – |
| 2013-2014 | Serie BEurobet | – | NGM | CAME Automazione (shorts sponsor) |
| 2014-2015 | – | Compass | ||
| 2015-2018 | Serie B ConTe.it | – | – | – |
| 2018-2019 | SerieBKT | – | Unibet | Facile Ristrutturare (sleeve sponsor) |
| 2019-2020 | – | – | ||
| 2020- | – | – | – |
