2023–24 Serie C

The 2023–24 Serie C, officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship,^[9] was the 65th season of the Serie C, the third tier of the Italian football league system, organized by the Lega Pro.

Serie C

Season	2023–24
Dates	Regular season: 3 September 2023 – 28 April 2024 Play-offs: 7 May 2024 – 9 June 2024
Promoted	Mantova Cesena Juve Stabia Carrarese (via play-off)
Relegated	Fiorenzuola Recanatese Monterosi Virtus Francavilla Pro Sesto Alessandria Fermana Olbia Brindisi
Matches played	1,140[1]
Goals scored	2,657 (2.33 per match)[2]
Top goalscorer	Cosimo Patierno (20+1 goals)
Biggest home win	Entella 5–0 Perugia Rimini 5–0 Olbia Avellino 6–1 Picerno
Biggest away win	Padova 0–5 Mantova Pontedera 0–5 Pescara Latina 0–5 Avellino
Highest scoring	Recanatese 4–5 Pontedera
Longest winning run	8 matches[3][4][5] Cesena (22–29)
Longest unbeaten run	28 matches[3][4][5] Cesena (2–29)
Longest winless run	16 matches[3][4][5] Brindisi (18–33)
Longest losing run	7 matches[3][4][5] Brindisi (11, 2, 12–16)
Highest attendance	19,739[6][7][8] Catania 0–1 Atalanta U23
Lowest attendance	26[6][7][8] Juventus Next Gen 2–0 Recanatese Juventus Next Gen 1–1 Lucchese
Total attendance	3,073,976[6][7][8]
Average attendance	2,685[6][7][8]
← 2022–23 2024–25 →

Changes

The league comprises 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.^[10][11]

On 16 June 2023, Pordenone announced their intention to renounce their Serie C spot due to financial issues.^[12][13] On 24 July, the Federation replaced Pordenone with Mantova.^[14]

Siena^[15] and Reggina^[16] have been excluded from their leagues. FIGC admitted Atalanta Under-23 to replace Siena.^[17] Brescia was readmitted to Serie B in place of Reggina.^[18] The remaining vacancy in Serie C was filled by Casertana.^[19]

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.

AlbinoLeffe

Alessandria

Arzignano

Atalanta U23

Fiorenzuola

Giana] Erminio

Legnago

Lumezzane

Mantova

Novara

Padova

Pergolettese

Pro Patria

Pro Sesto

Pro Vercelli

Renate

Trento

Triestina

Vicenza

V. Verona

Location of teams in 2023–24 Serie C (Group A)

AlbinoLeffe

Giana Erminio

Atalanta U23

Pro Sesto

Pergolettese

Mantova

Renate

Pro Patria

Lumezzane

Location of teams in 2023–24 Serie C (Group A) (Lombardy)

Club	City	Stadium	Capacity
AlbinoLeffe	Albino and Leffe	AlbinoLeffe Stadium (Zanica)	1,791
Alessandria	Alessandria	Giuseppe Moccagatta	5,926
Arzignano Valchiampo	Arzignano	Dal Molin	1,690
Atalanta U23	Bergamo	Comunale di Caravaggio (Caravaggio)	2,180
Fiorenzuola	Fiorenzuola d'Arda	Comunale di Fiorenzuola d'Arda	4,000
Giana Erminio	Gorgonzola	Città di Gorgonzola	3,766
Legnago	Legnago	Mario Sandrini	2,152
Lumezzane	Lumezzane	Tullio Saleri	4,150
Mantova	Mantua	Danilo Martelli	6,066
Novara	Novara	Silvio Piola (Novara)	17,875
Padova	Padua	Euganeo	32,420
Pergolettese	Crema	Giuseppe Voltini	4,095
Pro Patria	Busto Arsizio	Carlo Speroni	5,000
Pro Sesto	Sesto San Giovanni	Breda	3,523
Pro Vercelli	Vercelli	Silvio Piola (Vercelli)	5,526
Renate	Renate	Città di Meda (Meda)	2,500
Trento	Trento	Briamasco	3,000
Triestina	Trieste	Nereo Rocco	26,566
Vicenza	Vicenza	Romeo Menti	17,163
Virtus Verona	Verona	Mario Gavagnin-Sinibaldo Nocini	1,500

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Mantova (P)	38	24	8	6	72	31	+41	80	Promotion to Serie B and Supercoppa di Serie C
2	Padova	38	21	14	3	55	28	+27	77	National play-offs 2nd round
3	Vicenza	38	20	11	7	52	30	+22	71	National play-offs 1st round
4	Triestina	38	19	7	12	61	44	+17	64	Group play-offs 2nd round
5	Atalanta U23	38	16	11	11	43	36	+7	59	Group play-offs 1st round
6	Legnago	38	13	17	8	46	39	+7	56
7	Giana Erminio	38	15	8	15	46	44	+2	53[a]
8	Pro Vercelli	38	14	11	13	50	47	+3	53[a]
9	Lumezzane	38	15	8	15	49	48	+1	53[a]
10	Trento	38	13	12	13	34	37	−3	51
11	Virtus Verona	38	12	11	15	35	43	−8	47
12	Pro Patria	38	12	10	16	37	51	−14	46
13	AlbinoLeffe	38	10	15	13	34	37	−3	45[b]
14	Pergolettese	38	13	6	19	44	50	−6	45[b]
15	Renate	38	11	12	15	35	46	−11	45[b]
16	Arzignano	38	10	14	14	32	37	−5	44
17	Novara (O)	38	8	19	11	39	49	−10	43	Relegation play-outs
18	Fiorenzuola (R)	38	10	8	20	38	62	−24	38
19	Pro Sesto[c] (R)	38	7	14	17	25	40	−15	35	Relegation to Serie D
20	Alessandria[d] (R)	38	5	8	25	20	48	−28	20

Updated to match(es) played on 28 April 2024. Source: Lega Pro, Soccerway (in English)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Lower goals against; 7) Wins; 8) Lower losses; 9) Away wins; 10) Lower home losses.
(Note: Head-to-head record is used only after all the matches between the teams in question have been played)^[22]
(O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Giana Erminio and Pro Vercelli are ahead of Lumezzane on head-to-head points: Giana Erminio 9, Pro Vercelli 9, Lumezzane 0.
   Giana Erminio are ahead of Pro Vercelli on head-to-head goal difference: Giana Erminio +2, Pro Vercelli -2.
2. Albinoleffe are ahead of Renate on head-to-head points: Albinoleffe 8, Pergolettese 5, Renate 2.
3. Automatically relegated for having more than eight points of distance from 16th-placed team Arzignano.
4. 3 points deducted due to irregularities in the June 2023 salary payments and due to further administrative irregularities^[20][21]

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.

Ancona

Arezzo

Carrarese

Cesena

Fermana

Gubbio

Juventus NG

Lucchese

Olbia

Perugia

Pescara

Pineto

Pontedera

Recanatese

Rimini

Sestri Levante

SPAL

Torres

Virtus Entella

Vis Pesaro

Location of teams in 2023–24 Serie C (Group B)

Club	City	Stadium	Capacity
Ancona	Ancona	Del Conero	23,976
Arezzo	Arezzo	Città di Arezzo	13,128
Carrarese	Carrara	Stadio dei Marmi	9,500
Cesena	Cesena	Orogel Stadium-Dino Manuzzi	20,194
Fermana	Fermo	Bruno Recchioni	8,920
Gubbio	Gubbio	Pietro Barbetti	4,939
Juventus Next Gen	Turin	Giuseppe Moccagatta (Alessandria)	5,926
Lucchese	Lucca	Porta Elisa	12,800
Olbia	Olbia	Bruno Nespoli	4,000
Perugia	Perugia	Renato Curi	23,625
Pescara	Pescara	Adriatico – Giovanni Cornacchia	20,515
Pineto	Pineto	Adriatico – Giovanni Cornacchia (Pescara)	20,515
Pontedera	Pontedera	Ettore Mannucci	2,700
Recanatese	Recanati	Nicola Tubaldi	1,500
Rimini	Rimini	Romeo Neri	9,768
Sestri Levante	Sestri Levante	Dei Marmi (Carrara)	9,500
SPAL	Ferrara	Paolo Mazza	16,134
Torres	Sassari	Vanni Sanna	7,480
Virtus Entella	Chiavari	Comunale di Chiavari	5,587
Vis Pesaro	Pesaro	Tonino Benelli	4,898

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Cesena (C, P)	38	30	6	2	80	19	+61	96	Promotion to Serie B and Supercoppa di Serie C
2	Torres	38	22	9	7	56	38	+18	75	National play-offs 2nd round
3	Carrarese (O, P)	38	21	10	7	54	30	+24	73	National play-offs 1st round
4	Perugia	38	17	12	9	44	35	+9	63	Group play-offs 2nd round
5	Gubbio	38	16	11	11	50	38	+12	59	Group play-offs 1st round
6	Pescara	38	16	7	15	60	55	+5	55
7	Juventus Next Gen	38	15	9	14	50	44	+6	54
8	Arezzo	38	14	11	13	46	44	+2	53
9	Pontedera	38	14	10	14	53	54	−1	52
10	Rimini	38	14	8	16	52	54	−2	50
11	SPAL	38	12	13	13	41	40	+1	49
12	Lucchese	38	11	12	15	34	43	−9	45[a]
13	Virtus Entella	38	11	12	15	33	35	−2	45[a]
14	Pineto	38	9	18	11	38	42	−4	45[a]
15	Sestri Levante	38	12	8	18	42	55	−13	44
16	Ancona (E, R)	38	10	12	16	41	51	−10	42	Phoenix in Serie D
17	Vis Pesaro	38	8	15	15	39	47	−8	39	Relegation play-outs
18	Recanatese (R)	38	10	8	20	47	65	−18	38
19	Fermana[b] (R)	38	6	13	19	30	59	−29	31	Relegation to Serie D
20	Olbia (R)	38	6	8	24	25	67	−42	26

Updated to match(es) played on 28 April 2024. Source: Lega Pro, Soccerway (in English)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Lower goals against; 7) Wins; 8) Lower losses; 9) Away wins; 10) Lower home losses.
(Note: Head-to-head record is used only after all the matches between the teams in question have been played)^[23]
(C) Champions; (E) Eliminated; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Lucchese are ahead of Virtus Entella and Pineto on head-to-head points: Lucchese 7, Virtus Entella 3, Pineto 3.
   Virtus Entella are ahead of Pineto on overall goal difference: Virtus Entella -2, Pineto -4.
2. Automatically relegated for having more than eight points of distance from 16th-placed team Ancona.

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.

Cerignola

Avellino

Benevento

Brindisi

Casertana

Catania

Crotone

Foggia

Giugliano

Stabia

Latina

Messina

Monopoli

Monterosi

Picerno

Potenza

Sorrento

Taranto

Turris

Francavilla

Location of teams in 2023–24 Serie C (Group C)

Avellino

Benevento

Casertana

Giugliano

Juve Stabia

Sorrento

Turris

Location of teams in 2023–24 Serie C (Group C) (Campania)

Picerno

Potenza

Location of teams in 2023–24 Serie C (Group C) (Basilicata)

Club	City	Stadium	Capacity
Audace Cerignola	Cerignola	Domenico Monterisi	7,453
Avellino	Avellino	Partenio-Adriano Lombardi	26,000
Benevento	Benevento	Ciro Vigorito	16,867
Brindisi	Brindisi	Franco Fanuzzi	7,462
Casertana	Caserta	Alberto Pinto	12,000
Catania	Catania	Angelo Massimino	20,204
Crotone	Crotone	Ezio Scida	16,640
Foggia	Foggia	Pino Zaccheria	25,085
Giugliano	Giugliano in Campania	Alberto De Cristofaro	6,044
Juve Stabia	Castellammare di Stabia	Romeo Menti	7,642
Latina	Latina	Domenico Francioni	9,310
Messina	Messina	San Filippo-Franco Scoglio	38,722
Monopoli	Monopoli	Vito Simone Veneziani	6,880
Monterosi Tuscia	Monterosi	Gaetano Bonolis (Teramo)	7,498
Picerno	Picerno	Donato Curcio	1,500
Potenza	Potenza	Alfredo Viviani	4,977
Sorrento	Sorrento	Italia	3,600
Taranto	Taranto	Erasmo Iacovone	27,584
Turris	Torre del Greco	Amerigo Liguori	3,566
Virtus Francavilla	Francavilla Fontana	Nuovarredo Arena	3,360

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Juve Stabia (P)	38	22	13	3	57	24	+33	79	Promotion to Serie B and Supercoppa di Serie C
2	Avellino	38	20	9	9	62	29	+33	69	National play-offs 2nd round
3	Benevento	38	18	12	8	45	33	+12	66	National play-offs 1st round
4	Casertana	38	17	14	7	51	38	+13	65[a]	Group play-offs 2nd round
5	Taranto[b]	38	20	9	9	46	31	+15	65[a]	Group play-offs 1st round
6	Picerno	38	15	13	10	53	40	+13	58
7	Audace Cerignola	38	12	17	9	54	46	+8	53[c]
8	Giugliano	38	15	8	15	44	47	−3	53[c]
9	Crotone	38	13	13	12	54	47	+7	52
10	Latina	38	14	9	15	44	51	−7	51
11	Foggia	38	13	9	16	40	44	−4	48[d]
12	Sorrento	38	13	9	16	39	47	−8	48[d]
13	Catania	38	12	9	17	39	38	+1	45[e]	National play-offs 1st round[f]
14	Messina	38	11	12	15	41	49	−8	45[e]
15	Turris	38	11	11	16	46	57	−11	44
16	Potenza (O)	38	10	13	15	38	47	−9	43	Relegation play-outs
17	Monopoli (O)	38	10	12	16	41	51	−10	42
18	Virtus Francavilla (R)	38	8	11	19	30	50	−20	35[g]
19	Monterosi (R)	38	8	11	19	43	62	−19	35[g]
20	Brindisi[h] (R)	38	7	8	23	28	64	−36	25	Relegation to Serie D

Updated to match(es) played on 27 April 2024. Source: Lega Pro, Soccerway (in English)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Lower goals against; 7) Wins; 8) Lower losses; 9) Away wins; 10) Lower home losses.
(Note: Head-to-head record is used only after all the matches between the teams in question have been played)^[26]
(O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Casertana are ahead of Taranto on head-to-head points: Casertana 6, Taranto 0.
2. 4 points deducted due to administrative irregularities.^[24]
3. Audace Cerignola are ahead of Giugliano on head-to-head points: Audace Cerignola 6, Giugliano 0.
4. Foggia are ahead of Sorrento on overall goal difference: Foggia -4, Sorrento -8.
5. Catania are ahead of Messina on overall goal difference: Catania +1, Messina -8.
6. Catania qualify for the national play-offs first round by winning the Coppa Italia Serie C.
7. Virtus Francavilla are ahead of Monterosi on head-to-head goal difference: Virtus Francavilla +1, Monterosi -1.
8. 4 points deducted due to administrative irregularities.^[25]

Promotion play-offs

Rules and dates were confirmed on March 14, 2024.^[27] Because of an appeal by Taranto against a 4-point deduction, without which the final positions in Group C would change,^[28] all play-off rounds were postponed, with the new dates announced on 29 April.^[29]

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.

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Atalanta U23	3–1	Trento
Legnago	1–0	Lumezzane
Giana Erminio	3–0	Pro Vercelli
Gubbio	0–1	Rimini
Pescara	2–2	Pontedera
Juventus Next Gen	2–0	Arezzo
Taranto	0–0	Latina
Picerno	2–0	Crotone
Audace Cerignola	1–1	Giugliano

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.

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Triestina	1–1	Giana Erminio
Atalanta U23	1–1	Legnago
Perugia	0–0	Rimini
Pescara	1–3	Juventus Next Gen
Casertana	0–0	Audace Cerignola
Taranto	0–0	Picerno

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.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Taranto	0–1	Vicenza	0–1	0–0
Perugia	2–3	Carrarese	0–2	2–1
Triestina	2–3	Benevento	1–1	1–2
Atalanta U23	1–1	Catania	0–1	1–0
Juventus Next Gen	3–2	Casertana	0–1	3–1

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.^[30]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Vicenza	3–0	Padova	2–0	1–0
Benevento	1–0	Torres	1–0	0–0
Catania	2–2	Avellino	1–0	1–2
Juventus Next Gen	3–3	Carrarese	1–1	2–2

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.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Avellino	1–2	Vicenza	0–0	1–2
Carrarese	3–2	Benevento	1–0	2–2

Final

The first leg was played on June 5, and the second leg on June 9.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Vicenza	0–1	Carrarese	0–0	0–1

Relegation play-outs

Rules and dates were confirmed on March 14, 2024.^[27]

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.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Fiorenzuola	2–5	Novara	1–3	1–2
Recanatese	4–4	Vis Pesaro	1–0	3–4
Monterosi	1–2	Potenza	0–1	1–1
Virtus Francavilla	2–2	Monopoli	1–1	1–1

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals[31][32][33]
1	Cosimo Patierno1	Avellino	21
2	Jacopo Murano	Picerno	20
	Cristian Shpendi	Cesena
4	Claudio Morra	Rimini	19
5	Simone Guerra2	Juventus Next Gen	17
	Davide Merola	Pescara
7	Alessio Curcio1	Casertana	16
	Filippo D'Andrea1	Audace Cerignola
	Maguette Fall3	Giana Erminio
	Franco Ferrari3	Vicenza
	Facundo Lescano	Triestina

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

2024	Mantova	1–2	Cesena	Stadio Danilo Martelli, Mantua
	Juve Stabia	1–4	Mantova	Stadio Romeo Menti, Castellammare di Stabia
	Cesena	2–2	Juve Stabia	Stadio Dino Manuzzi, Cesena
	Cesena (group B) won with 4 points at the top of the group