Promotion and Relegation in Italian Football

How does promotion and relegation work in Italian football?

Promotion and relegation in Italian football are generally similar to promotion and relegation in English football, but there are some differences.

Italian Football League Structure

As in England, Italy has tiers of leagues in its soccer structure. (Related: The Leagues and Cups of English Football.) At the top is Serie A, including all the famous clubs like AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and the rest. Just below that is Serie B, and below that is Serie C. Below that, it becomes a system of regional leagues.

Serie A European Places and Relegation

At the top of Serie A, the top four clubs qualify for the next season’s Champions League. No. 5 goes to the Europa League, and no. 6 goes to the Europa Conference League.

The three clubs at the bottom of Serie A — nos. 18, 19, and 20 — are automatically relegated to Serie B. After the 2024-25 season, those were Empoli, Venezia and Monza.

Como was promoted to Serie A in 2024

Serie B Promotion to Serie A

Meanwhile, in Serie B, the top two teams are automatically promoted to Serie A. For this season, those were Sassuolo and Pisa (that’s them at the top of this post, and Groundhopper Guides has seen a game at Pisa).

Italian football, like in England, has promotion playoffs, but there’s a slight difference. In Italy, teams that finish 3rd through 8th in Serie B qualify for the promotion playoffs. In England, it’s just teams 3 through 6.

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In Italy, teams who finish 3rd and 4th in Serie B begin the playoff with a bye, and teams 5 through 8 compete in a preliminary round to determine who will advance to the semifinals. The preliminary round is played over one game, and the semifinal and final rounds are played over two legs with the winner securing promotion to Serie A.

Note that England, starting with the 2026-27 season, will use the same format.

2024-25 Serie A Promotion Playoffs

At the end of the 2024-25 Serie B season, the top of the table looked like this:

• 1st: Sassuolo (promoted)
• 2nd: Pisa (promoted)
• 3rd: Spezia
• 4th: Cremonese
• 5th: Juve Stabia
• 6th: Catanzaro
• 7th: Cesena
• 8th: Palermo

Spezia and Cremonese received a bye during the first round of the playoffs, while Juve Stabia faced Palermo and Catanzaro faced Cesena. Catanzaro and Juve Stabia advanced to the semifinals. Spezia and Cremonese beat them and advanced to the playoff final, with Cremonese ultimately earning promotion after defeating Spezia 3–2 on aggregate over the two-legged final.

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