Serie B facts for kids
 |
|
| Organising body | Lega B |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1929 (pilot in 1922) |
| Country | Italy |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of teams | 20 |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Promotion to | Serie A |
| Relegation to | Serie C |
| Domestic cup(s) | Coppa Italia |
| Current champions | Sassuolo (2nd title) (2024–25) |
| Most championships | Genoa (6 titles) |
| Most appearances | Luigi Cagni (483) |
| Top goalscorer | Stefan Schwoch (135) Massimo Coda (135) |
| TV partners | LaB Channel DAZN |
| Website | legab.it |
Serie B is the second-highest professional football league in Italy, right below the famous Serie A. Think of it as a stepping stone for clubs dreaming of playing in the top division. For over 90 years, since the 1929–30 season, it has been a battleground for teams fighting for promotion.
The league is often called campionato cadetto or cadetteria. In Italian, cadetto means junior or cadet, which is a fitting nickname for the second-level league. Because of a sponsorship deal, its official name is Serie BKT.
Contents
How Serie B Began
In the early days of Italian football, there were only a few teams. In 1904, a second level called Seconda Categoria (Second Category) was created. It was for reserve teams and smaller clubs that had just joined the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). To get promoted, a team didn't just have to win; they also had to prove they were good enough to compete with the top clubs.
By 1921, a manager named Vittorio Pozzo helped create a true national second league, called the Seconda Divisione (Second Division). The league was split into North and South groups because traveling across the whole country was difficult back then.
A major change happened in 1929. The FIGC decided to create a single, national second-division league, just like the top league. This was the birth of Serie B as we know it today. At first, smaller clubs were worried about the high costs of traveling all over Italy, but the single-group format stayed.
The League Through the Years
.jpg)
The first Serie B season had 18 teams. The number of teams in the league has changed many times over the years.
- After World War II, the league was temporarily split into three regional groups because of damage to the country.
- By 1948, it was back to a single group of 22 teams.
- For 35 years, from 1958 to 2003, the league mostly had 20 teams.
- In the 2003–04 season, a dispute led to a record 24 teams in the league for one year. It was then reduced to 22 teams.
- In 2019, the league returned to its current format of 20 teams.
Even some of Italy's most famous clubs have played in Serie B, including Juventus, Milan, Roma, Lazio, and Torino.
How the Competition Works
The Regular Season
The 20 teams in Serie B play each other twice a season, once at home and once away. This is called a round-robin tournament. A win gets a team three points, a draw gets one point, and a loss gets zero points.
At the end of the season:
- The top two teams are automatically promoted to Serie A.
- The bottom three teams are automatically relegated (sent down) to Serie C.
Promotion Play-offs
The fun doesn't stop there! A third team gets promoted through a play-off tournament.
- Teams that finish from 3rd to 8th place enter the play-offs.
- However, if the 3rd place team is more than 14 points ahead of the 4th place team, the play-offs are skipped, and the 3rd place team is promoted directly.
- The play-offs are a mini-tournament with preliminary rounds, semi-finals, and a final to decide the last promotion spot.
Relegation Play-out
A play-out decides the fourth team to be relegated.
- The teams that finish 16th and 17th play each other in a two-legged match (home and away).
- The loser is relegated to Serie C.
- If the 16th place team is more than 5 points ahead of the 17th, there is no play-out, and the 17th place team is automatically relegated.
Clubs in the 2024–25 Season
Here are the 20 teams competing in the 2024–25 Serie B season.
| Team | Home city | Stadium | 2023–24 season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bari | Bari | Stadio San Nicola | 17th in Serie B |
| Brescia | Brescia | Stadio Mario Rigamonti | 8th in Serie B |
| Carrarese | Carrara | Stadio dei Marmi | Serie C, play-off winner |
| Catanzaro | Catanzaro | Stadio Nicola Ceravolo | 5th in Serie B |
| Cesena | Cesena | Orogel Stadium-Dino Manuzzi | Serie C, Group B winner |
| Cittadella | Cittadella | Stadio Pier Cesare Tombolato | 14th in Serie B |
| Cosenza | Cosenza | Stadio San Vito-Gigi Marulla | 9th in Serie B |
| Cremonese | Cremona | Stadio Giovanni Zini | 4th in Serie B |
| Frosinone | Frosinone | Stadio Benito Stirpe | 18th in Serie A |
| Juve Stabia | Castellammare di Stabia | Stadio Romeo Menti | Serie C, Group C winner |
| Mantova | Mantua | Stadio Danilo Martelli | Serie C, Group A winner |
| Modena | Modena | Stadio Alberto Braglia | 10th in Serie B |
| Palermo | Palermo | Stadio Renzo Barbera | 6th in Serie B |
| Pisa | Pisa | Arena Garibaldi – Stadio Romeo Anconetani | 13th in Serie B |
| Reggiana | Reggio Emilia | Mapei Stadium – Città del Tricolore | 11th in Serie B |
| Salernitana | Salerno | Stadio Arechi | 20th in Serie A |
| Sampdoria | Genoa | Stadio Luigi Ferraris | 7th in Serie B |
| Sassuolo | Sassuolo | Mapei Stadium – Città del Tricolore | 19th in Serie A |
| Spezia | La Spezia | Stadio Alberto Picco | 15th in Serie B |
| Südtirol | Bolzano | Stadio Druso | 12th in Serie B |
Champions and Promotions
Here is a list of the teams that have won the Serie B title and earned promotion to Serie A over the years. The team in bold is the champion for that season.
See also
In Spanish: Serie B (Italia) para niños
- Italian football league system
- List of football clubs in Italy
- Sports league attendances
