The 2023–24 Serie C, officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship, was the 65th season of the Serie C, the third tier of the Italian football league system, organized by the Lega Pro.
Mantova, Cesena and Juve Stabia won their respective groups and were promoted directly to Serie B. Carrarese secured the fourth promotion place by defeating Vicenza 1–0 on aggregate in the play-off final, returning to Serie B after a 76-year absence.
Changes The league comprised 60 teams, geographically divided into three different groups. The Serie C league committee decided and formalized the group composition between July and August 2023.
The following teams have changed divisions since the 2022–23 season:
To Serie C Relegated from Serie B Benevento Perugia SPAL
Promoted from Serie D Sestri Levante (Group A winners) Lumezzane (Group B winners) Legnago (Group C winners) Giana Erminio (Group D winners) Arezzo (Group E winners) Pineto (Group F winners) Sorrento (Group G winners) Brindisi (Group H winners) Catania (Group I winners) Casertana (Repechage)
From Serie C Promoted to Serie B Feralpisalò Reggiana Catanzaro Lecco
Relegated to Serie D Sangiuliano City Piacenza San Donato Tavarnelle Imolese Montevarchi Gelbison Viterbese Fidelis Andria Pordenone (expelled)
Exclusions and readmissions In early June 2023, the Italian Football Federation announced the rules to determine readmissions in the Serie C league.
Vacancies arising from clubs going bankrupt or not applying for a Serie C licence were filled by the league considering applications from teams relegated from Serie C, reserve teams of Serie A clubs, and Serie D playoff winners, in this order.
On 16 June 2023, Pordenone announced their intention to renounce their Serie C spot due to financial issues. On 24 July, the Federation replaced Pordenone with Mantova.
Siena and Reggina were excluded from their leagues. The FIGC admitted Atalanta Under-23 to replace Siena. The newly established Atalanta Under-23 side became the first reserve team of a Serie A club to follow Juventus Next Gen into Serie C. Brescia was readmitted to Serie B in place of Reggina. The remaining vacancy in Serie C was filled by Casertana.
Group A (North) Stadia and locations 9 teams from Lombardy, 5 teams from Veneto, 3 teams from Piedmont, 1 team from Emilia-Romagna, 1 team from Friuli-Venezia Giulia and 1 team from Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol.
Club City Stadium Capacity AlbinoLeffe Albino and Leffe AlbinoLeffe Stadium (Zanica) Alessandria Alessandria Giuseppe Moccagatta Arzignano Valchiampo Arzignano Dal Molin Atalanta U23 Bergamo Comunale di Caravaggio (Caravaggio) Fiorenzuola Fiorenzuola d'Arda Comunale di Fiorenzuola d'Arda Giana Erminio Gorgonzola Città di Gorgonzola Legnago Legnago Mario Sandrini Lumezzane Lumezzane Tullio Saleri Mantova Mantua Danilo Martelli Novara Novara Silvio Piola (Novara) Padova Padua Euganeo Pergolettese Crema Giuseppe Voltini Pro Patria Busto Arsizio Carlo Speroni Pro Sesto Sesto San Giovanni Breda Pro Vercelli Vercelli Silvio Piola (Vercelli) Renate Renate Città di Meda (Meda) Trento Trento Briamasco Triestina Trieste Nereo Rocco Vicenza Vicenza Romeo Menti Virtus Verona Verona Mario Gavagnin-Sinibaldo Nocini
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Group B (Centre) Stadia and locations 4 teams from Marche, 4 teams from Tuscany, 3 teams from Emilia-Romagna, 2 teams from Abruzzo, 2 teams from Liguria, 2 teams from Sardinia, 2 teams from Umbria and 1 team from Piedmont.
Club City Stadium Capacity Ancona Ancona Del Conero Arezzo Arezzo Città di Arezzo Carrarese Carrara Stadio dei Marmi Cesena Cesena Orogel Stadium-Dino Manuzzi Fermana Fermo Bruno Recchioni Gubbio Gubbio Pietro Barbetti Juventus Next Gen Turin Giuseppe Moccagatta (Alessandria) Lucchese Lucca Porta Elisa Olbia Olbia Bruno Nespoli Perugia Perugia Renato Curi Pescara Pescara Adriatico – Giovanni Cornacchia Pineto Pineto Adriatico – Giovanni Cornacchia (Pescara) Pontedera Pontedera Ettore Mannucci Recanatese Recanati Nicola Tubaldi Rimini Rimini Romeo Neri Sestri Levante Sestri Levante Dei Marmi (Carrara) SPAL Ferrara Paolo Mazza Torres Sassari Vanni Sanna Virtus Entella Chiavari Comunale di Chiavari Vis Pesaro Pesaro Tonino Benelli
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Group C (South) Stadia and locations 7 teams from Campania, 6 teams from Apulia, 2 teams from Basilicata, 2 teams from Lazio, 2 teams from Sicily and 1 team from Calabria.
Club City Stadium Capacity Audace Cerignola Cerignola Domenico Monterisi Avellino Avellino Partenio-Adriano Lombardi Benevento Benevento Ciro Vigorito Brindisi Brindisi Franco Fanuzzi Casertana Caserta Alberto Pinto Catania Catania Angelo Massimino Crotone Crotone Ezio Scida Foggia Foggia Pino Zaccheria Giugliano Giugliano in Campania Alberto De Cristofaro Juve Stabia Castellammare di Stabia Romeo Menti Latina Latina Domenico Francioni Messina Messina San Filippo-Franco Scoglio Monopoli Monopoli Vito Simone Veneziani Monterosi Tuscia Monterosi Gaetano Bonolis (Teramo) Picerno Picerno Donato Curcio Potenza Potenza Alfredo Viviani Sorrento Sorrento Italia Taranto Taranto Erasmo Iacovone Turris Torre del Greco Amerigo Liguori Virtus Francavilla Francavilla Fontana Nuovarredo Arena
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Promotion play-offs Rules and dates were confirmed on March 14, 2024. Because of an appeal by Taranto against a 4-point deduction, without which the final positions in Group C would change, all play-off rounds were postponed, with the new dates announced on 29 April.
Group phase First round In each group, the 5th-placed team plays the 10th-placed team, the 6th-placed team plays the 9th-placed team and the 7th-placed team plays the 8th-placed team. In case of a draw, the highest-placed team qualifies.
Matches were played on May 7.
Second round In each group, the 4th-placed team plays the worst-placed winner from the first round, and the best-placed winner from the first round plays the second-best winner. In case of a draw, the highest-placed team qualifies.
Matches were played on May 11.
National phase First round The three 3rd-placed teams, the winner of Coppa Italia Serie C and the best winner from the group phase are seeded. In case of an aggregate draw, the seeded team qualifies.
The first legs were played on May 14, and the second legs on May 18.
Second round The three 2nd-placed teams and the best winner from the previous round are seeded. In case of an aggregate draw, the seeded team qualifies.
The first legs were played on May 21, and the second legs on May 25. The game between Vicenza and Padova, originally scheduled for May 21, was postponed to May 22 due to bad weather.
Final four Pairings and teams hosting the second leg are drawn randomly. If the match ends in an aggregate draw, extra time is played, followed by penalties if necessary.
Semi-finals The first legs were played on May 28, and the second legs on June 2.
Final The first leg was played on June 5, and the second leg on June 9.
Relegation play-outs Rules and dates were confirmed on March 14, 2024.
The losers of each tie are relegated to Serie D. In case of an aggregate draw, the best-placed team avoids relegation. If the two teams involved in a tie are separated by more than 8 points, the matches are not played and the worst-placed team is automatically relegated.
The first legs were played on May 12 and the second legs on May 19.
Top goalscorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 Cosimo Patierno1Avellino212 Jacopo MuranoPicerno20 Cristian ShpendiCesena4 Claudio MorraRimini195 Simone Guerra2Juventus Next Gen17 Davide MerolaPescara7 Alessio Curcio1Casertana16 Filippo D'Andrea1Audace Cerignola Maguette Fall3Giana Erminio Franco Ferrari3Vicenza Facundo LescanoTriestina Note 1 Player scored 1 goal in the play-offs. 2 Player scored 2 goals in the play-offs. 3 Player scored 3 goals in the play-offs.
Supercup 2024Mantova1–2CesenaStadio Danilo Martelli, MantuaJuve Stabia1–4MantovaStadio Romeo Menti, Castellammare di StabiaCesena2–2Juve StabiaStadio Dino Manuzzi, CesenaCesena (group B) won with 4 points at the top of the group
Broadcasting For the 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons, Sky Italia acquired the national broadcasting package for Serie C. Matches were shown on Sky channels and streamed through NOW, with 1,143 matches available in exclusive national coverage and 48 matches in co-exclusive coverage per season. The package included the regular season, the promotion play-offs, the Supercoppa di Serie C and the Coppa Italia Serie C from the round of 16.
Attendances
The top 10 clubs with the highest average home attendance:
# Club Average 1 Catania 15,175 2 Cesena 9,554 3 Vizenca 7,958 4 SPAL 6,514 5 Avellino 6,488 6 Mantova 5,654 7 Benevento 4,917 8 Taranto 4,882 9 Pescara 4,259 10 Ancona 4,165
Source:https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/ita/aveita24.htm
References
External links Official website