Italian Serie A

Serie A, officially known as Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie A, is Italy’s top professional football league. It was first established in 1898, and has been played in its modern format since 1929. Since 1961, the league champion has received the Coppa Campioni d’Italia trophy.

When Serie A began, it featured 18 clubs, but throughout its history the number of teams has changed several times — ranging from 16 to 21. Since the 2004–05 season, the league has consisted of 20 clubs. Today, the competition is commonly referred to simply as Serie A or Lega Serie A.

Sreie A 1929 -1930

Basic Facts

Serie A, Italy’s premier football league, was officially founded in 1929, though its origins date back to 1898. It is organized by Lega Serie A. Juventus holds the record for the most league titles with 35 championships, while Inter (Internazionale) has appeared in the top division the most times, with 88 seasons. 

History

The Italian national football championship was first contested in 1898, with Genoa Cricket & Athletic Club crowned champions after a single-match competition. For more than two decades that followed, the league operated through regional groups. Between 1922 and 1929, various formats were tested until multiple interregional divisions were eventually unified into a single national league. Around this time, Serie B was introduced as the second tier of Italian football.

During the Fascist era, foreign players were banned from participating in Italian football. However, this restriction was largely offset by recruiting players of Italian descent — known as rimpatriati — from South America. In 1964, the league took on its modern organizational identity as Lega Serie A, when it became part of the newly formed Lega Calcio, replacing the Italian Federal Football Association.

Since 1924, the Serie A champions have been awarded the Scudetto — meaning “little shield” — a symbol worn on the winners’ jerseys. Consequently, winning the league is often referred to as “winning the scudetto.” 

League system

Serie A represents the top tier of the Italian football league system. The second division, Serie B, was established in 1929, and a few years later the third tier, Serie C, was introduced. An overview of the current national league structure is shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Italian football tiers

Club	Tier
Serie A	1
Serie B	2
Serie C	3

Below the third tier the league is played on semi- or non-professional levels with regional divisions.

Qualification for European Cups

The top three teams in Serie A qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with an additional spot reserved for the winner of the Coppa Italia. Meanwhile, teams finishing between third and sixth place also earn opportunities to compete in European competitions.

Relegations

Since the 2006–07 season, the bottom three teams in Serie A (18th–20th place) have been relegated directly to Serie B. In 2005–06, only two clubs were relegated. Prior to that, the bottom two teams (19th–20th place) went down automatically, while the teams finishing 17th and 18th played a two-leg playoff to decide which side would avoid relegation.

Stats

Teams with most titles

This dataset includes all Italian clubs that have won the top division, covering the period from 1929 to 2024.

Table 2. Clubs and Italian Football Championship titles

Club	Titles	1st title
Juventus	36	1905
Internazionale	20	1952-53
Milan	19	1901
Genoa	9	1898
Pro Vercelli	7	1908
Torino	7	1926-27
Bologna	7	1924-25
Roma	3	1941-42
Napoli	3	1986-87
Fiorentina	2	1955-56
Lazio	2	1973-74
Casele	1	1913-14
Novese	1	1921-22
Cagliari	1	1969-70
Hellas Verona	1	1984-85
Sampdoria	1	1990-91

Juventus were also crowned champions in the 2004–05 season, but the title was later revoked.

It should be noted that seasons prior to the creation of Serie A in 1929 are included as well. For example, all of Genoa CFC’s championship titles were won before 1929.

Teams with most Serie A participation

This table features Italian clubs that have made more than 50 appearances in Serie A between 1929 and 2020.

Table 3. Clubs and league participation

Club	Participation
Internazionale	89
Juventus	88
Roma	88
Milan	87
Fiorentina	83
Lazio	78
Torino	77
Napoli	75
Bologna	74
Atalanta	60
Genoa	54

Between the first season and the most recent, a total of 67 clubs have competed in the top division of the Spanish league.

Numbers of teams included

Overview of the number of teams that have participated from season to season. 

Table 4. Number of participating teams

Seasons	Teams
2004/2005–	20
1988/1999–2003/2004	18
1967/1968–1987/1988	16
1952/1953–1966/1967	18
1948/1949–1951/1952	20
1947/1948	21
1946/1947	20
1934/1935–1942/1943	16
1929/1930–1933/1934	18

Due to the World War II, no seasons were played during the period 1944-1945.

Serie A 1929-30 Juventus vs Roma Bruno Ballante

Audience

Capacity of Serie A stadiums

Table 5 shows the stadium capacities of the clubs competing in Serie A. San Siro — home to both Internazionale and AC Milan — is the largest venue, with a capacity of more than 80,000 seats. The average stadium capacity across the league is approximately 39,410.

Table 5. The stadium capacities in the Serie A season 2018-2019

Team	Stadium name	Capacity
Atalanta	Atleti Azzurri d'Italia	21,300
Bologna	Renato Dall'Ara	38,279
Cagliari	Sardegna Arena	16,233
Chievo	Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi	38,402
Empoli	Stadio Carlo Castellani	16,284
Fiorentina	Stadio Artemio	43,147
Frosinone	Stadio Benito Stirpe	16,227
Genoa	Stadio Luigi Ferraris	36,685
Internazionale	San Siro	80,018
Juventus	Juventus Stadium	41,507
Lazio	Stadio Olimpico	72,698
Milan	San Siro	80,018
Napoli	Stadio San Paolo	60,240
Parma	Stadio Ennio Tardini	27,906
Roma	Stadio Olimpico	72,698
Sampdoria	Stadio Luigi Ferraris	36,685
Sassuolo	Mapei Stadium	23,717
SPAL	Stadio Paolo Mazza	13,020
Torino	Stadio Olimpico di Torino	27,994
Udinese	Stadio Friuli-Dacia Arena	25,132

Serie A timeline

1898

The Italian Football Federation (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC) is founded.

1921

Prima Divisione (a predecessor to Serie A) is branded as the first level of the Italian Football Championship.

1926

Divisione Nazionale (a predecessor to Serie A) is branded as the first level of the Italian Football Championship.

1929

The Serie A is established.

1929

The league is expanded to 18 clubs.

1934

The league is reduced to 16 clubs.

1943

The 1943–44 season is cancelled due to WWII.

1945

The league is restored after the war.

1946

The league is expanded to 20 clubs.

1947

The league is expanded to 21 clubs.

1948

The league is reduced to 20 clubs.

1967

The league is reduced to 16 clubs.

1988

The league is expanded to 18 clubs.

1993

From the 1993–94 season, wins are awarded three points instead of two.

2004

The league is expanded to 20 clubs.