Promotion and Relegation
In each division, two teams are promoted to Serie B, and three teams are relegated to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione. In total, the league promotes 4 teams to Serie B and relegates 6 teams to Seconda Divisione.
The team finishing first in the regular season is directly promoted to Serie B, while teams placing 2nd to 5th are entered into a play-off semi-final for the chance of gaining the second promotional spot for that particular division.
In the play-off phase that takes place after the regular season is completed, in each division the team placed 2nd will play the team placed 5th, and the team placed 3rd will play the team placed 4th in two double-leg promotional semi-final series with the higher classified team having home field advantage in the second leg. In case of an aggregate tie score, the away goals rule is not used, and the higher classified team is declared the winner without extra time being played nor penalty kicks being taken. The winning teams advance to the final in another double-leg series with similar rules. The only difference being that if an aggregate tie exists at the end of the second match, extra time is played. If the tie persists, again the higher classified team is declared the winner and no penalty kicks are taken. The winner becomes the second team promoted for that particular division to Serie B.
The team finishing last in the regular season is directly relegated to Seconda Divisione, while teams placing 14th to 17th are entered into a relegation playoff phase called play-out. There is only one round in the play-outs. In each division the team placed 14th will play the team placed 17th, and the team placed 15th will play the team placed 16th in a double-leg series with the higher classified team having home field advantage in the second leg. In case of an aggregate tie score, the rules are exactly the same as those for the promotional semi-finals. The two winning teams remain in Prima Divisione while the two losing teams become the second and third teams relegated for that particular division.
Play-off and play-out phases were first held in 1993-1994. Before then, the two top-placed teams were promoted to Serie B, whereas the three bottom-table ones were relegated to Serie C2, as it was known at that time.
Read more about this topic: Lega Pro Prima Divisione
Famous quotes containing the word promotion:
“Parents can fail to cheer your successes as wildly as you expected, pointing out that you are sharing your Nobel Prize with a couple of other people, or that your Oscar was for supporting actress, not really for a starring role. More subtly, they can cheer your successes too wildly, forcing you into the awkward realization that your achievement of merely graduating or getting the promotion did not warrant the fireworks and brass band.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)