Lega Nazionale Professionisti
Encyclopedia
The Lega Nazionale Professionisti (Italian
for National League of Professionals), commonly known as Lega Calcio (Football League), was the governing body that ran the two highest football divisions in Italy
, namely Serie A
and Serie B
, from 1946 to 2010. It was folded on 1 July 2010, following a split between Serie A and Serie B clubs, which led to the creation of two new leagues, the Lega Serie A
and Lega Serie B
respectively.
The Lega Calcio was founded as the Lega Nazionale (National League) in 1946, after the Second World War, and its name was changed in 1960, shortly after Italy fully recognized professional status for the players of the top divisions. Its predecessor during the fascist era, between 1926 and 1944, was the Direttorio Divisioni Superiori (Directory of Higher Divisions), a league whose president was appointed by the FIGC. Earlier still before, the first football league in Italy was the Lega Nord (Northern League), which was composed of the major clubs of Northern Italy
from 1921 to 1926.
Promotion and relegation between the divisions were a central feature of the league: at the end of the season the bottom clubs of Serie B switched with the top clubs of the Lega Pro (or its predecessors), thus integrating the League into the Italian football league system
. Besides, the Lega Calcio also organized the main Italian cup competition, the Coppa Italia
and the Supercoppa Italiana
.
and Serie B
. In any given season a club played each of the others in the same division twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents.
Clubs gained three points for a win (two before 1994) one for a draw, and none for a defeat. At the end of each season, the club with the most points in the Serie A was crowned champion. If points were equal, the head-to-head records determined the winner (tie-breakers were also used in the past). If still equal, the goal difference and then goals scored became the deciding factors. As for Serie B, at the top end three clubs won promotion to Serie A, with the bottom three Serie A clubs taking their places. At the lower end, four club were relegated to the Lega Pro Prima Divisione, while four teams from the Lega Pro joined the Serie B in their place.
Promotion and relegation
were determined by final league positions, but to sustain interest for more clubs over the length of the season in the later years one promotion place from Serie B was decided according to a playoff between four clubs, which took place at the end of the season. It was therefore possible for a team finishing sixth in the championship to be promoted rather than the clubs finishing immediately above them in the standings. Likewise, one relegation place to the Prima Divisione was decided according to a playoff between two clubs.
Youth teams of Lega Calcio clubs played in the Campionato Nazionale Primavera, as well as competing in their own cup competitions, such as the Coppa Italia Primavera
and the Supercoppa Primavera
.
, open to all Serie A and Serie B clubs and some clubs from the Lega Pro and the LND
.
, between the champions of the Serie A and the winners of the Coppa Italia.
) agreed on plans to split from Serie B to form another governing and financing body, with the same name Serie A, in a move reminiscent of England's Premier League formation in 1992. Subsequently, on 1 July 2010, the Lega Calcio was officially folded and replaced by the two newly formed leagues, Lega Serie A
and Lega Serie B
.
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
for National League of Professionals), commonly known as Lega Calcio (Football League), was the governing body that ran the two highest football divisions in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, namely Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
and Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
, from 1946 to 2010. It was folded on 1 July 2010, following a split between Serie A and Serie B clubs, which led to the creation of two new leagues, the Lega Serie A
Lega Serie A
The Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie A , commonly known as Lega Serie A , is the governing body that runs the major professional football competitions in Italy, most prominently the Serie A.It was founded on 1 July 2010...
and Lega Serie B
Lega Serie B
The Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie B , commonly known as Lega Serie B , is the governing body that runs the second tier of professional football competitions in Italy, the Serie B.It was founded on 7 July 2010, following a split between Serie A and Serie B clubs, which led to the dissolution...
respectively.
The Lega Calcio was founded as the Lega Nazionale (National League) in 1946, after the Second World War, and its name was changed in 1960, shortly after Italy fully recognized professional status for the players of the top divisions. Its predecessor during the fascist era, between 1926 and 1944, was the Direttorio Divisioni Superiori (Directory of Higher Divisions), a league whose president was appointed by the FIGC. Earlier still before, the first football league in Italy was the Lega Nord (Northern League), which was composed of the major clubs of Northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
from 1921 to 1926.
Promotion and relegation between the divisions were a central feature of the league: at the end of the season the bottom clubs of Serie B switched with the top clubs of the Lega Pro (or its predecessors), thus integrating the League into the Italian football league system
Italian football league system
The Italian football league system is a series of interconnected leagues and national tournaments, set up by the Italian Football Federation , for football clubs in Italy with one club hailing from San Marino.-History:...
. Besides, the Lega Calcio also organized the main Italian cup competition, the Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
and the Supercoppa Italiana
Supercoppa Italiana
The Supercoppa Italiana is a pre-season football competition held the week before the season begins in Italy every year. It is contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season, as a curtain raiser to the new season. It is usually played at the home of the Serie A...
.
League
The member clubs of the Lega Calcio were grouped into two divisions: the Serie ASerie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
and Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
. In any given season a club played each of the others in the same division twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents.
Clubs gained three points for a win (two before 1994) one for a draw, and none for a defeat. At the end of each season, the club with the most points in the Serie A was crowned champion. If points were equal, the head-to-head records determined the winner (tie-breakers were also used in the past). If still equal, the goal difference and then goals scored became the deciding factors. As for Serie B, at the top end three clubs won promotion to Serie A, with the bottom three Serie A clubs taking their places. At the lower end, four club were relegated to the Lega Pro Prima Divisione, while four teams from the Lega Pro joined the Serie B in their place.
Promotion and relegation
Promotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...
were determined by final league positions, but to sustain interest for more clubs over the length of the season in the later years one promotion place from Serie B was decided according to a playoff between four clubs, which took place at the end of the season. It was therefore possible for a team finishing sixth in the championship to be promoted rather than the clubs finishing immediately above them in the standings. Likewise, one relegation place to the Prima Divisione was decided according to a playoff between two clubs.
Youth teams of Lega Calcio clubs played in the Campionato Nazionale Primavera, as well as competing in their own cup competitions, such as the Coppa Italia Primavera
Coppa Italia Primavera
The Coppa Italia Primavera is an Italian football competition played for by youth teams from Campionato Primavera. All players are under 20 of age. The first edition was held in the 1972-73 season....
and the Supercoppa Primavera
Supercoppa Primavera
The Supercoppa Primavera is an Italian youth teams football match played by the winner of Campionato Primavera and the winner of Coppa Italia Primavera at the beginning of the season.The competition is held since 2004....
.
Cup
The Lega Calcio organised a cup competition, the Coppa ItaliaCoppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
, open to all Serie A and Serie B clubs and some clubs from the Lega Pro and the LND
Lega Nazionale Dilettanti
The Lega Nazionale Dilettanti is the giant league which rules the amatorial football of FIGC in Italy.Founded in 1959 in Rome, it has many leagues inside: a national league, the Interregional Commettee, which organizes the Serie D championship from 1981, nineteen regional leagues called Regional...
.
Supercup
The Lega Calcio also organised the Supercoppa ItalianaSupercoppa Italiana
The Supercoppa Italiana is a pre-season football competition held the week before the season begins in Italy every year. It is contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season, as a curtain raiser to the new season. It is usually played at the home of the Serie A...
, between the champions of the Serie A and the winners of the Coppa Italia.
2010 Split
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 being U.S. LecceU.S. Lecce
Unione Sportiva Lecce or simply U.S. Lecce is an Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia who play in the Italian Serie A. After being crowned Serie B champions in 2009–10, the team successfully managed to avoid relegation in 2010-11....
) agreed on plans to split from Serie B to form another governing and financing body, with the same name Serie A, in a move reminiscent of England's Premier League formation in 1992. Subsequently, on 1 July 2010, the Lega Calcio was officially folded and replaced by the two newly formed leagues, Lega Serie A
Lega Serie A
The Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie A , commonly known as Lega Serie A , is the governing body that runs the major professional football competitions in Italy, most prominently the Serie A.It was founded on 1 July 2010...
and Lega Serie B
Lega Serie B
The Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie B , commonly known as Lega Serie B , is the governing body that runs the second tier of professional football competitions in Italy, the Serie B.It was founded on 7 July 2010, following a split between Serie A and Serie B clubs, which led to the dissolution...
.
List of Lega Nazionale Professionisti presidents
- 1946–1950 Piero Pedroni
- 1950–1957 Saverio Giulini
- 1958–1959 Giuseppe Pasquale (interim)
- 1959–1962 Giuseppe Pasquale
- 1962–1964 Giorgio Perlasca
- 1964–1965 Artemio FranchiArtemio FranchiArtemio Franchi was an Italian football administrator. He served as Italian Football Federation President , UEFA President and as a member of the FIFA Executive Committee . He died in a road accident near Siena on 12 August 1983.The home stadium of ACF Fiorentina and that of A.C...
(interim) - 1965–1973 Aldo Stacchi
- 1973–1976 Franco CarraroFranco CarraroFranco Carraro is an Italian sport manager and a former member of Italian Socialist Party in the 1980s and 1990s.-Football:Carraro was born in Padua....
- 1976–1977 Antonio Griffi
- 1977–1978 Franco CarraroFranco CarraroFranco Carraro is an Italian sport manager and a former member of Italian Socialist Party in the 1980s and 1990s.-Football:Carraro was born in Padua....
(interim) - 1978–1981 Renzo Righetti
- 1982–1987 Antonio MatarreseAntonio MatarreseAntonio Matarrese is an Italian sports manager for soccer.-Career:Matarrese graduated with a degree in business administration and he is Certified Public Accountant. He is CEO of the S. Matarrese Plc Group...
- 1987–1996 Luciano Nizzola
- 1997–2001 Franco CarraroFranco CarraroFranco Carraro is an Italian sport manager and a former member of Italian Socialist Party in the 1980s and 1990s.-Football:Carraro was born in Padua....
- 2002–2006 Adriano GallianiAdriano GallianiAdriano Galliani is an Italian entrepreneur who has been serving as vice-president and C.E.O. of Italian football club Associazione Calcio Milan since 1986. During his tenure as CEO, Milan have won five European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles and eight Serie A titles among other achievements and...
- 2006–2009 Antonio MatarreseAntonio MatarreseAntonio Matarrese is an Italian sports manager for soccer.-Career:Matarrese graduated with a degree in business administration and he is Certified Public Accountant. He is CEO of the S. Matarrese Plc Group...
- 2009-2009 Giancarlo Abete (interim)
- 2009-2010 Maurizio Beretta
- : interim commissioner appointed directly by the Italian Football Federation
See also
- Italian football league systemItalian football league systemThe Italian football league system is a series of interconnected leagues and national tournaments, set up by the Italian Football Federation , for football clubs in Italy with one club hailing from San Marino.-History:...
- Serie ASerie ASerie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
- Serie BSerie BSerie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
- Coppa ItaliaCoppa ItaliaThe Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
- Supercoppa ItalianaSupercoppa ItalianaThe Supercoppa Italiana is a pre-season football competition held the week before the season begins in Italy every year. It is contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season, as a curtain raiser to the new season. It is usually played at the home of the Serie A...
- Campionato Nazionale PrimaveraTrofeo Giacinto FacchettiThe Campionato Nazionale Primavera – Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti, is an Italian football competition played by youth teams of all Serie A and all Serie B clubs, and organized by the Football League. All players must be under 20, but two overaged are allowed in eliminatory rounds...
- Coppa Italia PrimaveraCoppa Italia PrimaveraThe Coppa Italia Primavera is an Italian football competition played for by youth teams from Campionato Primavera. All players are under 20 of age. The first edition was held in the 1972-73 season....
- Supercoppa PrimaveraSupercoppa PrimaveraThe Supercoppa Primavera is an Italian youth teams football match played by the winner of Campionato Primavera and the winner of Coppa Italia Primavera at the beginning of the season.The competition is held since 2004....