The Northern League (LN, ''Lega Nord'') was the first
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 in Italy.
[Luigi Saverio Bertazzoni, “Annuario Italiano del Giuoco del Calcio”, in “I volumi dello sport”, F.I.G.C., 1929 (it.)]
The League
The League born in summer 1921 in opposition to 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 ...
. The greatest and richest clubs of
Northern Italy
Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...
unsuccessfully asked for a reform of the amatorial and crowded
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 ) ...
. The 24 major clubs consequently resigned from the FIGC and founded the Northern League on the model of the
English Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...
. The headquarters were in
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 ...
. They created their own private championship, the
First Division, that received also the adhesion of all Southern clubs, that were united into a ''Southern League'', and of some minor clubs that were grouped into a ''Second Division''. Together, they created the
Italian Football Confederation in opposition to the Federation.
The lack of international recognition by the
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 ...
suggested an agreement with the poor FIGC, under mediation of the
Gazzetta dello Sport
''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' (; "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy (in 2018).
History and profile
''La ...
director, Mr Colombo. The FIGC accepted the First Division as its new major competition, and the CCI was disbanded. The clubs of the old FIGC First Category which were excluded from the First Division joined the Northern League into a new competition, the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
.
The Northern League was disbanded by the fascists in 1926. They transformed the league into a national appointed committee, the
Higher Directory. After the war and the fall of fascism, the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
was restored with a national structure. In 2010, the Football League was transformed into present-day
Lega Serie A
The Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie A (Italian for ''National Professionals League Serie A''), commonly known as LNPA or Lega Serie A (Serie A League), is the governing body that runs the major professional Association football, football com ...
.
References
{{Football in Italy
Serie A
Football in Italy
1921 establishments in Italy
1926 disestablishments in Italy