Divisione Nazionale ''(National Division)'' was the name of the first level of the

Italian Football Championship 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 Italian (''italiano'' or ) ...

from 1926 to 1929.

History

The competition was the evolution of former Prima Divisione ''(First Division)'' which had two main problems: it was divided between the northern and the southern part of the country, and was formally faithful to the amatorial directories of

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

. The

fascist regime Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

couldn't accept a championship based on local groups, so in 1926 it took the direct control of

FIGC 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 ...

with fascist

Leandro Arpinati Leandro Arpinati (29 February 1892 – 22 April 1945) was an Italian politician. Biography Arpinati was born at Civitella di Romagna. Before World War I, he was originally an individualist-anarchist and, together with his friend Benito Mussol ...

as president, who merged two

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clubs and newborn

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

into the

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

-based Northern League, which consequently changed its name into Direttorio Divisioni Superiori ''(Directory of Higher Divisions)'', and it formed a Prima Divisione Sud championship ''(Southern First Division)'' which would promote a southern club into the renamed Divisione Nazionale every year. Players' purchase and salary were also allowed, even if Italian football didn't officially turn into a professional system until 1960. Divisione Nazionale was based, as previous Lega Nord, on two groups, now composed of only ten clubs each, the best teams playing a final group for the scudetto. In 1927, the championship was provisionally enlarged to 22 clubs, due to the re-admittance of

A.S. Roma ' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...

and

S.S.C. Napoli Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli (), is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in the city of Naples ( it, Napoli, nap, Napule), Camp ...

, which had been formally relegated at the end of the 1926–27 campaign. In 1928,

decided a historical reform, which lasts still today, creating the new

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

and

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 ...

, even if, for a transitional year, the two series had still to be played merged in a last Divisione Nazionale season.

History

Winners

See also