The 2016–17 Lega Pro Divisione Unica was the third season of the unified

Lega Pro The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

division, the third highest division in the

Italian football league system The Italian football league system, also known as the Italian football pyramid, refers to the hierarchically interconnected league system for association football in Italy. It consists of nine national and regional tournaments, the first three be ...

. The championship name, which is ''Divisione Unica'' according to the FIGC regulations, is nevertheless referred to as ''Lega Pro'' in official documents. The season marked the final year that the division would carry the Lega Pro name as it was changed back to Serie C for the 2017–18 season.

Teams

A total of 60 teams contest the league. Clubs include 4 sides relegated from the

2015–16 Serie B The 2015–16 Serie B (known as the Serie B ConTe.it for sponsorship reasons) was the 84th season since its establishment in 1929. A total of 22 teams contested the league: 16 returning from the 2014–15 season, 4 promoted from Lega Pro, and ...

season, 41 sides playing the

2015–16 Lega Pro The 2015–16 Lega Pro Divisione Unica is the second season of the unified Lega Pro division. The championship name, which is ''Divisione Unica'' according to the FIGC regulations, is called ''Lega Pro'' in official documents. Teams A total of ...

season, and 9 sides promoted from the

2015–16 Serie D The 2015–16 Serie D was the sixty-eighth edition of the top level Italian non-professional football championship. It represents the fourth tier in the Italian football league system. The phoenix club of Parma Calcio was added to this league. ...

season. Also, six teams are chosen to play in the league to increase the number of teams to 60. On 1 July 2016, 54 teams mathematically qualified to the new season. However,

Martina Franca Martina Franca, or just Martina ( Martinese: ), is a town and ''municipality'' in the province of Taranto, Apulia, Italy. It is the second most populated town of the province after Taranto, and has a population (2016) of 49,086. Since 1975, th ...

and Sporting Bellinzago did not submit their application for a licence. On 6 July also

Virtus Lanciano S.S. Virtus Lanciano 1924 is an Italian association football club, based in Lanciano, Abruzzo. It last played in Serie B in 2015–16 as Virtus Lanciano. Virtus Lanciano now competes in youth football only. History The club was founded in ...

did not meet the requirements to apply. On 16 July

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...

and

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 ...

did not submit an appeal against Covisoc's exclusion. On 19 July Paganese's appeal of exclusion was rejected by Covisod. However, on 3 August Paganese was readmitted to the league by TAR's decision. On 4 August the Federal Council selected ten teams in order to fill the vacancies created:

Fano Fano is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the '' Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by po ...

(as a replacement for Sporting Bellizango),

Fondi Fondi ( la, Fundi; Southern Laziale: ''Fùnn'') is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. I ...

Forlì Forlì ( , ; rgn, Furlè ; la, Forum Livii) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. It is the central city of Romagna. The city is situated along the Via ...

, Lupa Roma,

Melfi Melfi ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Vulture area of the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Geographically, it is midway between Naples and Bari. In 2015 it had a population of 17,768. Geography On ...

Olbia Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age ...

, Racing Roma,

Reggina Reggina 1914 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo. They are n ...

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

and Vibonese. On 10 August Albinoleffe was the last team to benefit from the repechage.

Stadia and locations

:''Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.''

Group A (North & Central West)

9 teams from

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, 4 teams from Lombardy, 3 teams from

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, 2 teams from

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

, 1 team from

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and 1 team from

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

Group B (North & Central East)

5 teams from

, 4 teams from Lombardy, 4 teams from Marche, 3 teams from

Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

, 1 team from Abruzzo, 1 team from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, 1 team from Trentino-Alto Adige and 1 team from

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

Group C (South)

6 teams from Apulia, 4 teams from Calabria, 4 teams from

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, 3 teams from

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

, 2 teams from Basilicata and 1 team from

League Tables

Group A (North & Central West)

Group B (North & Central East)

Group C (South)

Promotion play-offs

First Round

¹ Won by higher placed finish.

Second Round

¹ Won by higher placed finish.

Final Eight

:''Quarterfinals on 31 May and 4 June 2017, semifinals on 13 and 14 June 2017, final on 17 June 2017.''

Relegation play-outs

''Play-outs on 21 and 28 May 2017, loser on aggregate is relegated. Higher placed team plays at home for second leg. If tied on aggregate, lower-placed team is relegated.''

Top goalscorers

;Note ¹Player scored 1 goal in the play-offs.
²Player scored 2 goals in the play-offs.
³Player scored 3 goals in the play-offs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2016-17 Lega Pro Serie C seasons 3

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 ...