Football Club Messina was an Italian football club based in

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

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

, formerly known as ''S.S.D. Città di Messina'' and ''U.S.D. Camaro Messina'', and disbanded in 2021.

History

Foundation

The club is the direct heir of U.S.D. Camaro Messina, an amateur football club from the Messina neighbourhood of Camaro that was founded in 1969.

Città di Messina

In 2010 the club was renamed to S.S.D. Città di Messina. In the season 2011–12 the team was promoted from

Eccellenza Sicily Eccellenza Sicily ( it, Eccellenza Sicilia) is the regional Eccellenza football division for clubs in Sicily, Italy. It is competed amongst 32 teams, in two different groups (A and B). The winners of the Groups are promoted to Serie D. The clubs w ...

Group B to

Serie D The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...

after playoffs. However, they were then relegated twice, and won two straight promotion in 2017 from and 2018 from to find themselves back to Serie D for the

2018–19 Serie D The 2018–19 Serie D was the seventy-first edition of the top level Italian non-professional football championship. It represents the fourth tier in the Italian football league system. A total of 168 teams, divided on geographical grounds into si ...

, at the same level with the historical main team in the city,

ACR Messina Associazioni Calcio Riunite Messina S.r.l. is a football club based in Messina, Sicily, Italy, that competes in the Serie C, the third tier of the Italian football league system. History Football in Messina The origins of the team go ...

. The club escaped relegation in 2019 after winning a playoff against Locri.

Football Club Messina

In the summer of 2019, the club was acquired by

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

entrepreneur Rocco Arena, who was also the owner of Spanish club CF Independiente Alicante (heir of

Alicante CF Alicante Club de Fútbol was a Spanish football team based in Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1918, it played its home matches at ''Estadio Alicante CF'', with a 4,000-seat capacity. History ''Alicante Club de Fútbol'', under t ...

). On 13 July 2019, the Italian Football Federation approved a change name request for the club, which was renamed Football Club Messina. In the

2020–21 Serie D The 2020–21 Serie D was the seventy-third edition of the top level Italian non-professional football championship. It represents the fourth tier in the Italian football league system. Changes from 2019–20 A total 166 clubs were admitted to ...

season, FC Messina ended in second place, behind crosstown rivals

. They later won the

Girone I playoffs, defeating

Acireale Acireale (; scn, Jaciriali, locally shortened to ''Jaci'' or ''Aci'') is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the north-east of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. ...

in the semifinal and

Gelbison Gelbison were an Australian pop rock band formed in 2000 by Pete Farley on bass guitar, Dave Galafassi on drums, Edo Kahn on vocals and guitar, and his brother Nadav Kahn on vocals and keyboards. The Kahn brothers were also members of Nations ...

in the final, thus ensuring them the right to be admitted to

Serie C 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 ...

in case of a league vacancy. In July 2021, following Serie D Girone A champions Gozzano's withdrawal, FC Messina applied to be readmitted to Serie C. However, the request to be readmitted was denied by the

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 ...

committee, and successively also on appeal, due to the club's inability to provide a valid

surety In finance, a surety , surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pay ...

in time. The

2021–22 Serie D The 2021–22 Serie D is the seventy-third season of the top level Italian non-professional football championship. It represents the fourth tier in the Italian football league system. Teams The composition of the league involves nine divisions ...

campaign saw club owner Rocco Arena relinquishing from investing in the club during the season. In December the club released most of its players and failed to show up at two consecutive league games, thus being excluded from the league with immediate effect.

Colors and badge

Its colors are yellow and red. They usually play with blue kit, to avoid getting confused with the principal team of the city,

Stadium

The club originally played its home games in the old stadium of the city, the 11,900 seater

Stadio Giovanni Celeste Stadio Comunale Giovanni Celeste is a multi-use stadium in Messina, Italy. It is currently the home of S.S.D. Città di Messina (as known as ''Camaro''). The stadium is able to hold 11,900 people. History The stadium was named after (1905–1 ...

. In 2018 the club announced their relocation to the newly rebranded "Despar Stadium" in the outskirts of the city, a football field owned by local amateur football club Camaro. However, as the stadium did not meet the minimum requirements to host Serie D games, Città di Messina used the city's main venue

Stadio San Filippo Stadio San Filippo - Franco Scoglio (''Saint Philip Stadium'') is a football stadium in Messina, Italy. It is currently the home of A.C.R. Messina. History The stadium was initially commissioned at the start of the 1990s, but was not finished ...

as its home for the beginning of the season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Messina Football Club

Association football clubs established in 1969 Association football clubs disestablished in 2021 1969 establishments in Italy 2021 disestablishments in Italy Sport in Messina