2009–10 Lega Pro Prima Divisione


The 2009–10 Lega Pro Prima Divisione season will be the thirty-second football league season of Italian Lega Pro Prima Divisione since its establishment in 1978, and the second since the renaming from Serie C to Lega Pro.
It will be divided into two phases: the regular season, played from 23 August 2009 to May 2010, and the playoff phase from May to June 2010.
The league will also be composed of 36 teams divided into two divisions of 18 teams each, whose teams will be divided geographically. Teams will play only other teams in their own division, once at home and once away for a total of 34 matches each.
Teams finishing first in the regular season, plus one team winning the playoff round from each division will be promoted to Serie B; teams finishing last in the regular season, plus two relegation playoff losers from each division will be relegated to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione. In all, four teams will be promoted to Serie B, and six teams will be relegated to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.

Events

Start of season

The league was to feature four teams relegated from Serie B in 2008–09; Rimini, Pisa, Avellino, and Treviso. On July 9, the Covisoc organization announced that Pisa, Avellino, and Treviso did not pass the financial requirements in order to be admitted to the league. The clubs were allowed to appeal the decision until July 11. On July 10 Pisa announced they were not appealing the exclusion from the league due to their failure to meet the financial requirements. The next day, Treviso and Avellino failed to appeal the exclusion as well.
It is to feature six teams promoted from 2008–09 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione; the three division winners - Varese, Figline & Cosenza, and the three playoff winners - Como, Giulianova & Pescina V.d.G..
The remaining 26 teams were to come from the teams that played in 2008–09 Lega Pro Prima Divisione that were neither promoted nor relegated. Of those, Venezia, and Perugia were also listed by the Covisoc organization as not having met the financial requirements to be admitted. On July 11, Venice mayor Massimo Cacciari announced Venezia did not manage to fulfil the financial requirements to appeal the exclusion. On the other hand, the commission did allow Perugia to remain in Prima Divisione on appeal.
On July 30, 2009, the four vacancies created were filled by the following teams, all of which were destined to play in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione for the 2009-10 season before the call-up:
On March 19, 2010, after an investigation and a consequent trial at the Italian Football Federation Federal Court of Justice, Potenza was found guilt of match-fixing involving a 2008 league match against Salernitana and was punished with immediate exclusion from the league. It was the first time in Italian professional football that a club was excluded from a league during the season for a corruption case. In April 1993 Unione Sportiva Arezzo was excluded from Serie C1 Girone A with still seven matches to go, but due to bankruptcy and subsequent failure of their license.
The verdict was however partly reverted on appeal later on April 2, when the Tribunale Nazionale di Arbitrato per lo Sport admitted Potenza back to the league in order to allow the club complete the season; however the club will nevertheless appear as last-placed in the final table, regardless of the results from the coming games, thus forcing Potenza to play in the Lega Pro Seconda Divisione for the 2010–11 season.

Girone A

Teams

League table

Play-offs

Promotion

Varese promoted to Serie B.

Relegation

Paganese and Pro Patria relegated to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.

Results

Girone B

Teams

League table

Promotion Playoffs

Pescara promoted to Serie B.

Relegation

Giulianova and Pescina relegated to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.

Results