Serie A

Serie A is the top division of the Italian Football League, the highest football league in Italy. The division consists of 20 clubs from the 2004-05 season. The bottom three clubs in the league table are relegated to Serie B, to be replaced by the top three clubs from that division.

Serie A, as it is structured today, began in 1929. From 1898 to 1929 the competition was organised into regional groups. No title was awarded in 1927 after Torino were stripped of the championship by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). Torino was declared champions in the 1948-49 season following a plane crash near the end of the season in which the entire team was killed.

The final victory in the championship is often referred to as the scudetto (small shield) because the winning team will bear a small coat of arms with the Italian colours on their uniform in the following season.

The most successful league club is Juventus with 27 championships, followed by A.C. Milan (17), Internazionale (13) and Genoa 1893 (9).

Champions