Associazione Camachista San Marino Calcio, better known as San Marino Calcio, is a

Sammarinese Sammarinese () are citizens and people of the Republic of San Marino. Language San Marino recognizes Italian as the official language. The indigenous Sammarinese language is a variety of Romagnol spoken by approximately 83 percent of the populati ...

professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in the city of Acquaviva, that competes in the

Serie D The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...

, the fourth tier of Italian football, since being promoted in 2023. The original club was founded in 1960 as S.S. Serenissima (''Società Sportiva Serenissima''), before merging with S.S. Juvenes in 1973, changing its name to A.C. San Marino (''Associazione Calcio San Marino''), after which it changed its name to, San Marino Calcio in 1988, and again in 2021 to A.S.D. Victor San Marino (''Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Victor San Marino''), reverting back to A.C. San Marino Calcio in 2024. It is the only

football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...

based in the

Republic of San Marino A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a state in which political power rests with the public (people), typically through their representatives—in contrast to a monarchy. Although a ...

authorized by the

FIGC The Italian Football Federation (, ; FIGC ), known colloquially as (), is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It manages and coordinates the Italian football l ...

to compete in the Italian football league The club colours are sky blue and white, reminiscent of the Sammarinese flag. Historically, the highest level reached by the club was the Italian third tier, with a highest finish of tenth place. This makes it therefore the only Sanmarinese football team to have played in a professional league, as the national tournament of San Marino is amateur-level. Since the club is a full member of the Italian league system, it would hypothetically represent Italy in continental competitions, rather than its home country. On 4 July 2019 the sports title of the San Marino Calcio is transferred to the Cattolica Calcio, which takes the name of "Cattolica Calcio San Marino" and which is admitted to the

championship. The company retained its legal and administrative headquarters in the Republic of San Marino, but sporting activity took place in Cattolica and the colors become

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...

and

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

. In 2021, the team was refounded to represent San Marino in the Italian league system. After which, they got promoted to

, which they will be competing in the 2023–24 season.

History

The club was founded as Società Sportiva Serenissima in 1960 by the

San Marino Football Federation The San Marino Football Federation (FSGC; ) is the governing body of football in San Marino. It organizes the San Marino football league ( Campionato Sammarinese), a national cup ( Coppa Titano), a super cup ( Trofeo Federale) and the San Mari ...

, in order to have a team representing the

in the Italian league. The club was later purchased by Sammarinese and Italian

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

s. The foundation year is still disputed, mainly due to another team sponsored (but not owned) by the San Marino Football Federation, called

Libertas Libertas (Latin for 'liberty' or 'freedom', ) is the Roman goddess and personification of liberty. She became a politicised figure in the late republic. She sometimes also appeared on coins from the imperial period, such as Galba's "Freedom ...

- Tre Penne, having taken part in the Italian championship in 1959. The crest of Tre Penne is still visible on that of San Marino Calcio. Serenissima also inherited Libertas-Tre Penne's colors. San Marino Calcio is the only professional football team in the

that is allowed to play exclusively in the

Italian football league system The Italian football league system, also known as the Italian football pyramid, refers to the hierarchically interconnected league system for association football in Italy. It consists of nine national and regional tournaments, the first three b ...

. Since the San Marino Football League is completely amateur, the club is also the only professional team in the Republic. Another team from San Marino, A.C. Juvenes/Dogana, competed in both the amateur levels of Italian football and in the Sammarinese league in the past, but has since withdrawn from the

Early years

A.C. San Marino began playing in 1960 in the

Seconda Categoria The Seconda Categoria is the 8th level (since 2014–15) in the Italian football league system. Each individual league winner within the Seconda Categoria level progresses to their closest regional league in the Prima Categoria level. Depending on ...

, since the

Terza Categoria The Terza Categoria is the lowest level of amateur football in Italy. It is the ninth level in the Italian football league system. Each individual league winner within the Terza Categoria level progresses to their closest regional league in the ...

did not exist in the

at that time. After being promoted from the Seconda and

Prima Categoria The Prima Categoria is the seventh level (since 2014–15) in the Italian football league system and is organized by the National Amateur League by the Regional Committees. Each individual league winner within the Prima Categoria level progress ...

, the team began playing in the higher level, the

Promozione The Promozione (, "promotion") is the sixth level in the Italian football league system. Each individual league winner within the Promozione level progresses to their closest regional league in the Eccellenza level. Depending on each league's ...

before being relegated to the Prima Categoria in the 1976–77 season. They continued to play in the Prima Categoria for the next four seasons until they won the championship and were promoted to the Promozione again in the 1979–80 season. A.C. San Marino's stay in the Promozione was short lived, however; within two seasons they were relegated to the Prima Categoria. The team established themselves as a

yo-yo club A yo-yo club is a sporting side that is regularly promoted and relegated. The phrase is most typically used in association football in the United Kingdom, especially in reference to promotion to and relegation from the Premier League. The name ...

as they were once again promoted to the Promozione as champions in the 1984–85 season. The team then saw back-to-back championships as they won the Promozione the following season, and were promoted for the first time to the

, the highest amateur league in Italy. San Marino's success continued as they finished in second place in Serie D in the 1986–87 season, a championship they went on to win in the following year. In the 1988–89 season, the team appeared in the lowest level of the Italian professional league (

Serie C2 Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging t ...

) for the first time. In 1988 A.C. San Marino became a

joint stock company A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certifi ...

and changed its name from A.C. San Marino to San Marino Calcio. The renamed team was relegated to Serie D in the 1989–90 season after finishing second-last in Serie C2. After finishing 17th in the 1991–92 season San Marino Calcio were relegated again, this time to the

Eccellenza The Eccellenza (, "excellence") is the fifth level (since 2014–15) of Italian football.Official ...

, but were again promoted to Serie D in the 1992–93 season. In the 1995–96 season San Marino Calcio were relegated to the Eccellenza again after a three-year stay in Serie D, but they were again promoted in the 1996–97 season. The club's success was due in part to the appointment of the

San Marino national football team The San Marino national football team () represents San Marino in men's international association football competitions. The team is governed by the San Marino Football Federation and represents the smallest population of any UEFA member. They ...

manager Giampaolo Mazza, who led them to two non-consecutive Eccellenza championships. In the 1999–2000 season San Marino Calcio were promoted to the Serie C2 as champions of Serie D.

Post millennium

San Marino Calcio began the new millennium in the fourth level of Italian professional football, receiving a major boost with the arrival of the legendary

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

international

Andy Selva Andy Selva (born 23 May 1976) is a Sammarinese former Association football, footballer who is currently the manager of Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio, Campionato Sammarinese club S.S. Cosmos, Cosmos. During his playing career he played as a F ...

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

(old Napoli which bankrupted in 2004) also takeover the club as investor in 2000 but re-sold in November 2002. San Marino Calcio consolidated their place in

by finishing in the top half of the league standings for the next three seasons. The team was able to reach the 2003–04

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eith ...

final, but was defeated, and remained in Serie C2 after finishing fourth in the league. San Marino Calcio's 2004–05 season was more successful: they were victorious in the play-off final, and thus reached

Lega Pro Prima Divisione Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into ...

(formerly Serie C1) for the first time. The team was relegated again to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione during the 2006–07 season. In December 2006 Werther Cornieti, the chairman of the club, left due to controversial allegations and criticism during a sports broadcast. Daniele De Luigi was later confirmed as the new chairman of San Marino Calcio. In the season 2011–12 it was promoted from

Lega Pro Seconda Divisione Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging ...

. The club stayed at that level for three seasons, but got relegated to

after a last place finish in the 2014–15 season. In 2023, the club was promoted back to

after finishing at the top of the Eccellenza Emilia-Romagna Group B.

Colours and badge

The club's home kit consists of a light blue shirt with white and black inserts, black shorts, and black socks. Their away kit consists of a white shirt with dark blue inserts, white shorts, and black socks. San Marino Calcio released a third kit for merchandising, which consists of a red shirt with dark blue inserts, red shorts, and red socks. The golden frame of their badge contains the team name and the phrase "''Titanus aggressurus Olympum''", which refers to the

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

. Pictured in the center of the badge is a Titan. In Italian, the word "''Titan''" signifies both the race of mythological gods and

Monte Titano Monte Titano ("Mount Titan") is a mountain of the Apennines and the highest point in the country of San Marino. It stands above sea level Its peak is located within the municipal limits of the country's capital, San Marino, immediately east of t ...

, the highest point in San Marino. The left-hand circle represents the badge of Tre Penne, one of San Marino Calcio's two founding teams, and the right-hand circle represents the old San Marino Calcio badge.

Home stadium

Stadio Olimpico

The Olympic Stadium was the home of San Marino Calcio (currently Victor San Marino) until 2019. The stadium is located in Serravalle and was constructed in 1969. It is also home to the

and, in the past, to the Serravalle-based football club A.C. Juvenes/Dogana. The Olympic Stadium is an

all-seater stadium An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football and Amer ...

and has a capacity of 6,664.

Stadio di Acquaviva

Players

Current squad

Honours

**Champions: **Runner-up: 2011–12 **Promoted by Play–offs 1: 2004–05 ( it) *

**Champions: **Runners-up 1: 2011–12 (promoted) **Promoted by Play–offs: *

**Champions 2: 1987–88 ( it), 1999–2000 ( it) **Runners-up 1: 1986–87 ( it) * Eccellenza Emilia-Romagna **Champions 2: 1992–93 ( it), 1996–1997, 2022-23( it) *

Emilia-Romagna **Champions 1: 1985–86 ( it) *

**Champions 2: 1979–80, 1984–85

Attendances

References

External links

* * . {{DEFAULTSORT:San Marino Calcio Association football clubs established in 1960 Football clubs in Italy Football clubs in San Marino Serie C clubs Serie D clubs Expatriated football clubs 1960 establishments in San Marino