Società Sportiva Rende are an Italian association football

Football in Italy

Football is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italian national football team has won the FIFA World Cup 4 times , trailing only Brazil . Italy's club sides have won 27 major European trophies, making them the most successful European nation in the subject of football...

 club, based in Rende

Rende

- Churches :Miracle of St. James]]* Church of Our Lady of the AssumptionThe small building rises not far from the old church rebuilt several times and destroyed by a landslide. The old chapel were two columns, which still are the pillars of the new, and a marble bas-relief: the miracle of Saint...

, Calabria, currently playing in the regionally-based amateur Promozione

Promozione

Promozione is the name of a level of football in Italy. It is considered to be the 7th level in the Italian football league system. Each individual league winner within the Promozione level progresses to their closest regional league in the Eccellenza level...

 league. The team's colors are red and white.

History

The club was founded in 1968 under the name Sesso Rende. The club's first coach was the late Mario Portone, who afterward became the mayor of the Calabrian city, and managed to win promotion to Serie C2

Serie C2

Lega Pro Seconda Divisione is the name of the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consists of 54 teams, but in the season 2010–11 the teams are only 49 divided geographically into three divisions of 17, 16 and 16 teams each...

 for their first time in 1978, and then even Serie C1

Serie C1

Lega Pro Prima Divisione is the name of the third highest football league in Italy. It consists of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 18 teams each. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1....

 one year later. Rende played a consecutive five Serie C1 seasons before being relegated back to Serie C2 in 1984, and Serie D

Serie D

Serie D is the top level of the Italian non-professional football association called Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. The association represents over a million football players and thousands of football teams across Italy. Serie D ranks just below Lega Pro Seconda Divisione , and is thus considered the...

 in 1987. In 1992 the club relegated again, this time to Eccellenza Calabria

Eccellenza Calabria

Eccellenza Calabria is the regional Eccellenza football division for clubs in the Southern Italian region of Calabria, Italy. It is competed amongst 16 teams, in one group. The winners of the Groups are promoted to Serie D...

, and returned to Serie D only in 1997.

Rende were relegated to Eccellenza again in 2000, but two consecutive promotions from 2003 to 2005 led the club back into professionalism, spending a total two seasons into Serie C2

Serie C2

Lega Pro Seconda Divisione is the name of the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consists of 54 teams, but in the season 2010–11 the teams are only 49 divided geographically into three divisions of 17, 16 and 16 teams each...

, and also playing in 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...

, losing 4–0 to Lazio

S.S. Lazio

Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...

 in a one-legged round in Rome.

In 2007 the club moved to Cosenza

Cosenza

Cosenza is a city in southern Italy, located at the confluence of two historic rivers: the Busento and the Crathis. The municipal population is of around 70,000; the urban area, however, counts over 260,000 inhabitants...

 and merged with local club A.S. Cosenza Calcio forming Fortitudo Cosenza. Following the relocation, minor local club Santo Stefano accepted to inherit the title from Rende Calcio, switching their denomination to Società Sportiva Rende. The club won Prima Categoria

Prima Categoria

Prima Categoria is the name of a level of football in Italy. It is considered to be the eighth level in the Italian football league system and is organized by the National Amateur League by the Regional Committees. Each individual league winner within the Prima Categoria level progresses to their...

 in 2008 and is now playing Promozione

Promozione

Promozione is the name of a level of football in Italy. It is considered to be the 7th level in the Italian football league system. Each individual league winner within the Promozione level progresses to their closest regional league in the Eccellenza level...

.