Currently, the Lega Calcio administers both Serie A and Serie B together, but from comments coming out of today's league meeting, it appears likely the two will be run separately next season. Galliani: "La rottura e' grave" ... "Non so se rimarrameo insieme" Cellino: "Da oggi le strade di A e B si dividono" The implications of this - other than the administrative side of things, like separate league meetings, disciplinary committees, web sites, press releases, etc - are sort of hard to guess on the surface. I suppose time will tell.
Here's the gist of it.... Lega Calcio is made up of all Serie A and B clubs, ever since its inception in 1946. Since Serie A clubs get more money from TV rights and attendance, a "mutuality" was programmed to help Serie B clubs. That sum, shelled out by Serie A clubs has reached 100 million in recent years. Big clubs like Juve and Milan want to reduce the amount, with the ultimate aim of stoping it all together. Of course there was resistance from those minor clubs that move up and down from the two divisions every year or from those that simply plan to live/survive in Serie B. Yesterday, Serie A clubs proposed 110 million for the upcoming season and 99 for 2006-07. This offer was rejected by Serie B clubs and it would have created a stall like in previous years, since there are more Serie B clubs than in A and you need a majority vote. Since owners like Zamparini and Preziosi jumped the fence and bought bigger clubs (Palermo, Genoa) and left the perennial strugglers (Venezia, Como), they have started backing up Giraudo and Galliani, who have pushed for a Premiership-style league for at least 5 years. By offering a 2.5 million bonus to teams that get relegated, Serie A clubs plan to form their own league, without sharing TV rights money from RAI like in the past (SKY, La7 and Mediaset buy individual club rights for satellite and ppv) and erasing the mutual aid.
all of this points to the death of many Serie B clubs....unless they can form a group and pool their interests. It will be very hard for them to make money with many of bigger traditional clubs now back in A over the last few yrs.
That is just all ridiculous. It'll kill off teams which will kill off the number of Italian players making it at professional level, which will mean more foreigners arrive at the big clubs, which means high quality Italian players will be rare, which means Italy will cease to have a good international side. Stoopid!!!! www.soccersaurus.com
My friend John, who is on vacation in Milan with family, local newspaper called 'Corriere Della Sera' in Milan said Serie A season start on 8/28. Is it confirm?
Yes, that is the scheduled first date of the Serie A season. There are some appeals going on as to which teams will be in which league, which may delay the release of the schedule until mid-August, but I think they will try really hard to maintain the Aug 28 date because they won't want the season to run too long next spring ahead of the World Cup.
sure!but the calendar will be fixed when will be introduced whole Club of next Serie A. Now it's Blocked coz there're some issues about some Newbie teams become from Serie B and Messina FCP.Those Teams are could have a reject of their participation in next Serie A League.
last news: The Serie B Clubs don't want "Lega Calcio Split"... my opinion about it: The Serie B Clubs are really Silly...they are commedians instead of Professional Managers! S H I T !
This move was finally made official at today's league meeting. As of Jan 1, Serie A and Serie B will be administered by two completely separate organizations. The "Lega Nazionale Professionisti" will no longer administer both of them. A "mutuality" will still be paid for the next 9 seasons with Serie A giving 95 million euros to Serie B for the next 3 years and 65 million euros for the following 6. http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/SerieA/Primo_Piano/2005/10_Ottobre/14/AB.shtml
I'm A Lttle Lost Here, Sueb, Can You Explain How This Would Be Beneficial For Italian Football? Pros & Cons?
Good question. It definitely remains to be seen whether it's beneficial or not. It sort of leaves Serie B to fend for itself in the world aside from the guaranteed income from Serie A for the first 9 years. On the one hand, it could be just another case of the "rich getting richer" in the modern business of soccer. OR .... maybe, just maybe, it might allow (or force?) the smaller clubs - now independent of the dominant megaclubs - to be imaginative and come up with ways to improve their overall product, both as it appears on TV and in making stadium visits more attractive. The question is will the new "Serie B league" (whatever it gets called) use the funds productively to invest in the future, or will the money be just enough to stay afloat with no significant progress towards becoming self-sustainable. Time will tell.