The 2009–10

Lega Pro Prima Divisione Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1. Before the 1978� ...

season was the thirty-second

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

league season of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

since its establishment in 1978, and the second since the renaming from Serie C to Lega Pro. It was divided into two phases: the

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

, played from 23 August 2009 to May 2010, and the playoff phase from May to June 2010. The league was contested by 36 teams, geographically divided into two divisions of 18 teams each. Teams only played other teams in their own division, once at home and once away for a total of 34 matches each. Teams finishing first in the regular season, plus one team winning the playoff round from each division were promoted to

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

; teams finishing last in the regular season, plus two relegation playoff losers from each division were relegated to

Lega Pro Seconda Divisione Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of 2 ...

. Four teams were thus promoted to Serie B and six teams were relegated to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.

Events

Start of season

The league was to feature four teams relegated from

in 2008–09;

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

, and

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

. On July 9, the Covisoc (''Commissione di Vigilanza sulle Società Calcistiche'', Vigilancy Commission on Football Clubs) organization announced that Pisa, Avellino, and Treviso did not pass the financial requirements in order to be admitted to the league. The clubs were allowed to appeal the decision until 11 July. On 10 July,

announced they were not appealing the exclusion from the league due to their failure to meet the financial requirements. The next day,

and

failed to appeal the exclusion as well. It is to feature six teams promoted from

2008–09 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione The 2008–09 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione season was the thirty-first football (soccer) league season of Italian Lega Pro Seconda Divisione since its establishment in 1978, and the first since the renaming from Serie C2 to Lega Pro. It was divid ...

; the three division winners -

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

, Figline &

Cosenza Cosenza (; local dialect: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000; the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Province of Cosenza, which has a populati ...

, and the three playoff winners -

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

Giulianova Giulianova ( Giuliese: ' ) is a coastal town and ''comune'' in the province of Teramo, Abruzzo region, Italy. The ''comune'' also has city ( it, città) status, thus also known as Città di Giulianova. Geography The town lies in the north of the A ...

& Pescina V.d.G. The remaining 26 teams were to come from the teams that played in 2008–09 Lega Pro Prima Divisione that were neither promoted nor relegated. Of those,

Venezia Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...

(17th in Girone A), and

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

(8th in Girone B) were also listed by the Covisoc organization as not having met the financial requirements to be admitted. On July 11,

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

mayor

Massimo Cacciari Massimo Cacciari (; born 5 June 1944) is an Italian philosopher, politician and public intellectual. Biography Born in Venice, Cacciari graduated in philosophy from the University of Padua (1967), where he also received his doctorate, writing a ...

announced

did not manage to fulfil the financial requirements to appeal the exclusion. On the other hand, the commission did allow

to remain in Prima Divisione on appeal. On 30 July 2009, the four vacancies created were filled by the following teams, all of which were destined to play in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione for the 2009–10 season before the call-up: *

Potenza Potenza (, also , ; , Potentino dialect: ''Putenz'') is a ''comune'' in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania). Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital and one ...

, which finished last in Prima Divisione 2008-09 - Girone B *

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandria ...

, which lost in the playoff finals in Seconda Divisione 2008-09 - Girone A *

Andria Andria (; Barese: ) is a city and ''comune'' in Apulia ( southern Italy). It is an agricultural and service center, producing wine, olives and almonds. It is the fourth-largest municipality in the Apulia region (behind Bari, Taranto, and Fogg ...

, which lost in the playoff semi-finals in Seconda Divisione 2008-09 - Girone C *

Viareggio Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city within the province of Lucca, after Lucca. It is known as a seaside resort as ...

, which lost in the playoff semi-finals in Seconda Divisione 2008-09 - Girone B

Exclusion of Potenza from the league

On 19 March 2010, after an investigation and a consequent trial at the

Italian Football Federation The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It ...

, Federal Court of Justice,

was found guilt of match-fixing involving a 2008 league match against

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919, commonly referred to as Salernitana, is an Italian football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recentl ...

and was punished with immediate exclusion from the league. It was the first time in Italian professional football that a club was excluded from a league during the season for a corruption case. In April 1993 Unione Sportiva Arezzo was excluded from Serie C1 Girone A with still seven matches to go, but due to

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

and subsequent failure of their license. The verdict was however partly reverted on appeal later on 2 April, when the ''Tribunale Nazionale di Arbitrato per lo Sport'' (National Arbitration Court for Sports) admitted Potenza back to the league in order to allow the club complete the season; however the club will nevertheless appear as last-placed in the final table, regardless of the results from the coming games, thus forcing Potenza to play in the

for the 2010–11 season.

Girone A

Teams

League table

Play-offs

Promotion

:''Semifinals'' :''First legs played 23 May 2010; return legs played 30 May 2010'' :''Final'' :''First leg played 6 June 2010; return leg played 13 June 2010'' Varese promoted to

Relegation

:''First legs played 23 May 2010; return legs played 30 May 2010'' Paganese and Pro Patria relegated to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.

Results

Girone B

Teams

League table

Promotion Playoffs

:''Semifinals'' :''First legs played 23 May 2010; return legs played 30 May 2010'' :''Final'' :''First leg played 6 June 2010; return leg played 13 June 2010'' Pescara promoted to

Relegation

:''First legs played 23 May 2010; return legs played 30 May 2010'' Giulianova and Pescina relegated to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.

Results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2009-10 Lega Pro Prima Divisione Lega Pro Prima Divisione seasons

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...