Lega Pro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lega Pro |
|---|
 |
| Founded |
| 2008 |
| Nation |
 Italy |
| Feeder To |
| Serie B |
| Divisions |
| Prima Divisione Seconda Divisione |
| Number of Teams |
| 90 36 ( Prima Divisione ) 54 (Seconda Divisione) |
| Cups |
| Coppa Italia Lega Pro Super Coppa di Lega Pro Prima Divisione Super Coppa di Lega Pro Seconda Divisione |
| Current Champions (2007/08) |
| Sassuolo (C1) Reggiana (C2) |
Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the name of the third and fourth highest football leagues in Italy. It is broken up into Prima Divisione (third tier) and Seconda Divisione (fourth tier).
In turn, Prima Divisione consists of two divisions: Prima Divisione/A and Prima Divisione/B, both of 18 teams. At the end of the season, four teams (two from each division) go up to Serie B and six teams (three from each division) go down to Seconda Divisione.
Seconda Divisione consists of three divisions: Seconda Divisione/A, Seconda Divisione/B, and Seconda Divisione/C, all of them composed of 18 teams. At the end of the season, six teams (two from each division) go up to Prima Divisione and nine teams (three from each division) go down to Serie D.
For both Prima Divisione and Seconda Divisione, teams are split into gironi (divisions) by geographical criteria.
On June 20th, 2008 the league has changed its denomination from Lega Professionisti Serie C to Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (abbreviated to Lega Pro).
[edit] Playoff and Playout
In each of the five divisions (2 in Prima Divisione and 3 in Seconda Divisione), two teams are promoted and three teams are relegated. The first-placed team in a particular division is automatically promoted, while the 2nd through 5th placed teams enter a playoff tournament to determine the other team that will be promoted. The first round pairs the 2nd placed team vs the 5th placed team and the 3rd vs the 4th in a double leg series with the higher classified team having home-field advantage in the 2nd leg. The team with the higher aggregate score moves on to the second round. In case of an aggregate tie, the higher classified team moves on (the away goals rule is not used). The two winners play each other under the exact same format to determine the second team that will be promoted.
In the relegation zone, the last placed team (18th) is automatically demoted. The teams placed 14th through 17th enter a playoff round more commonly called playout. In this format the 14th placed team plays the 17th, and the 15th plays the 16th using the same rules mentioned for the promotion playoffs. The two winners remain in the division while the two losers are relegated. There is no second round in the playouts.
