Serie B (women's football)
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The Serie B (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsɛːrje ˈbi]) is the second division of women's football in Italy. Established in 1970, it has been run by the Italian Football Federation and currently features 16 teams.[1] The team which finishes Serie B in the top position is promoted directly to the Serie A, the team in the second position enters a promotion/relegation playoff with the second to last placed Serie A team, while the bottom three are relegated directly to the Serie C. Since 2015 it has been decreed by the Italian Football Federation all male Serie B teams must provide women's teams also.[2][3]
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| Founded | 1970; 54 years ago |
|---|---|
| Country | Italy |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Promotion to | Serie A |
| Relegation to | Serie C |
| Domestic cup(s) | Coppa Italia Supercoppa Italiana |
| Website | www |
| Current: 2024–25 Serie B (women) | |
This league was created in 1970. Until 1972, it was the second and last division of women's football in Italy because it was organized by the regional committees. In 1973, it was transformed into an interregional championship and, until 2002, it was the second highest tier, equivalent to the men's Serie B. In 2002, with the creation of the new Serie A2 championship, the category became the third tier, while remaining an amateur and national category, placing itself between the A2 and the regional Serie C.
In 2011, Serie B was dissolved to make way for the A2. With the reform implemented in June 2013, Serie A2 was transformed into Serie B. From the 2013/14 season to the 2017/18 season, the championship was organized in four groups by the geographical distribution of the participating teams, while the transition to a single group was announced starting from the 2018/19 season.[4]
Starting from the 2018/19 season, the organization of the Serie B championship, as well as that of Serie A, has been delegated to the Women's Football Division within the FIGC.
The Serie B championship has had different formats over the years, maintaining the division of the participating teams into several groups according to geographical distribution until the 2017/18 season. The number of groups over the years has varied from two (from 1989/90 to 1995/96) to six (2005/06). Promotion to Serie A or Serie A2 (from 2003 to 2011) was assigned either to the winners of the individual groups or via special play-offs.
In the years in which Serie B was the third tier of Italian football, the league format consisted of four or five groups of 12 teams each on average. The first in each group were promoted to Serie A2, while the bottom three teams were relegated to Serie C, the organization of which was entrusted to the Regional Committees of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). For the 2010/11 season, the format had been changed in view of the dissolution of the division: 33 teams divided into three groups of 12 (group A), 11 (group B) and 10 teams (group C), with 14 promotions divided as follows: the first 4 of each group, plus two winners of the play-offs between fifth and sixth of groups A and B. Only 3 teams were relegated to Serie C, i.e. the bottom of each group.
From the 2013/14 season to the 2017/18 season, the teams were divided into 4 groups according to geographical distribution. The first team in each group (4 teams in total) were promoted to Serie A and the bottom two were relegated to Serie C.
In the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons, there were 12 participating teams playing in one group with round-trip matches for a total of 22 matchdays. The top two teams are promoted to Serie A.[5] The teams in the last two positions are relegated directly to Serie C.[5] The teams in ninth and tenth place play a play-out, on neutral ground in a single match, against the two teams in Serie C who lost the promotion play-offs, for another two places in Serie B.[5] In the 2020/21 season, the number of participating teams was increased to 14, while the total number of matchdays rose to 26. The number of teams promoted to Serie A remained at two, while the bottom 4 were relegated to Serie C.
The following ten clubs are competing in the 2023–24 season.[6]
| Teams | Home city | 2022–23 season |
|---|---|---|
| Arezzo | Arezzo | 12th in Serie B |
| Bologna | Bologna | 1st in Serie C(B) |
| Brescia | Bergamo | 8th in Serie B |
| Cesena | Cesena | 6th in Serie B |
| Freedom FC | Cuneo | 2nd in Serie C(A) |
| Genoa | Genoa | 11th in Serie B |
| Chievo Verona | Verona | 7th in Serie B |
| Hellas Verona | Verona | 5th in Serie B |
| Lazio | Rome | 2nd in Serie B |
| Parma | Parma | 8th in Serie A |
| Pavia Academy | Pavia | 1st in Serie C(A) |
| Ravenna | Ravenna | 9th in Serie B |
| Res Roma | Rome | 1st in Serie C(C) |
| San Marino | San Marino | 10th in Serie B |
| Tavagnacco | Tavagnacco | 14th in Serie B |
| Ternana | Terni | 4th in Serie B |
1 The winners of Serie B are indicated in bold.
2 The teams promoted to Serie A are indicated in bold.
Promoted to Serie A2
- ^ "Serie B" (PDF) (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ "The future of Women's Football: a path to professionalism in 2022. Scudetto assigned to Juventus, Serie B expanded to 14 teams". Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio. June 25, 2020.
- ^ Proch, Daniele. "Women's Serie A To Kick Off Italy's First-Ever Professional Sports League For Female Athletes In 2022". Forbes.
- ^ "Comunicato Ufficiale N° 1-UNICO del 03/07/2017" (PDF). Dipartimento Calcio Femminile (2017/2018). 3 July 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-05-11. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
- ^ a b c "Competizioni Nazionali Di Calcio Femminile S.S. 2018/2019" (PDF). Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (Comunicato Ufficiale N. 8). 27 June 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-07-13. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
- ^ FIGC (2023-08-04). "Serie B". Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio. Retrieved 2023-10-17.