Prima Divisione (''First Division'') was the name of the first level of the

Italian Football Championship Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

from 1921 to 1926. The competition was initially founded in opposition to the FIGC by the richest clubs of Northern Italy, which disagreed the old format of the championship, based on regional groups. In 1921–22, two concurrent championships took place, before FIGC accepted the new format for 1922–23.

History

The Prima Divisione was divided in two leagues: Lega Nord ''(Northern League)'' and Lega Sud ''(Southern League)''. The Lega Nord championship was the main competition, and it was divided in two groups of twelve teams each. The winners of the two groups qualified for the final ''(Northern League Final)'' while the last teams were relegated in Seconda Divisione ''(Second Division)''. The Lega Sud championship was still divided in many regional groups; the best two teams of

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

and

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

and the winners of the

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

and

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

s groups qualified for the semifinals ''(Southern League Semifinals)'' of two groups. The winners of the semifinals advanced to the final. The winners of the two leagues qualified for the Finalissima (literally ''The Biggest Final''). The team that won the national final won the

scudetto The ''scudetto'' (; Italian for 'little shield') is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous ...

, firstly introduced for the 1923-24 champions

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

.''La Gazzetta dello Sport '' digital archive Because of the fascist ''Viareggio Charter'', in 1926 the Prima Divisione championship was renamed as

Divisione Nazionale Divisione Nazionale ''(National Division)'' was the name of the first level of the Italian Football Championship from 1926 to 1929. History The competition was the evolution of former Prima Divisione ''(First Division)'' which had two main proble ...

''(National Division)'', merging the best southern clubs into the Northern League. The second level of the Italian football consequently took the name of Prima Divisional, as it happened in England in 1992. In 1929 with the creation of the

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

and

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

championships the Prima Divisione became the third level of the Italian Football. In 1935 with the creation of the

Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...

championship the Prima Divisione became the fourth level of the Italian football. In 1948 with the creation of 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 ...

championship the first division became the fifth level of the Italian championship. In 1952 with the creation of the IV Serie championship the Prima Divisione became the sixth level. In 1959 the Prima Divisione championship was replaced by local

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

History

Winners

Winners (Lega Nord)

Winners (Lega Sud)

Northern League

Founding members

FIGC joining clubs

Promoted clubs

Notes

See also