Editing Serie A (section)

==History==
===Predecessors to Serie A, 1898–1928===
In the [[Italian football league system]], the Federazione Italiana del Football (FIF), began organising football in Italy in 1898. Its first competition, the [[1898 Italian Football Championship]], was held at the [[Velodrome Humbert I]] in Turin on 8 May 1898. First in the [[List of Italian football champions]] is thus [[Genoa CFC]], who won against three Turin based teams. Other Italian teams existed but hadn't joined at this stage. Genoa won the Italian Football Championship on five out of six occasions, interrupted by [[AC Milan]] in 1901.

From 1904, the tournament was named [[Prima Categoria]], structured into regional groups. The winners of each group participated in a playoff to declare the champions.

The FIF joined [[FIFA]] and was renamed in 1909 to Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC). The FIGC usurped the rival Federazione Ginnastica Nazionale Italiana (FGNI) as a football administration. The FGNI organised football tournaments in Italy between 1895 and 1913.

Argument in 1921 on the number of teams to be allowed in the set up, led to a split forming the Confederazione Calcistica Italiana (CCI). In 1921-22 the CCI conducted a rival tournament named [[Prima Divisione]] with Northern Italy's wealthiest clubs, in opposition to the competition organised separately by the FIGC. The FIGC then accepted the Prima Divisione as the new format from 1922-23 with its reduced number of teams.  

Prima Divisione played from 1921 to 1926. Prima Divisione was divided into Lega Nord (Northern League) and Lega Sud (Southern League). Lega Nord was divided into two non-regional, 12 team groups of which the winners played off in the Northern League Final. Lega Sud was sub-divided regionally with winners playing off in a finals series. The winners of the Northern and Southern Leagues then played off in the Finalissima (literally The Biggest Final), to be national champions.

In 1926 the [[Fascist]] regime placed the FIGC under control of politician [[Leandro Arpinati]]. Prima Divisione was replaced with [[Divisione Nazionale]]. Divisione Nazionale initially comprised the previous Liga Nord plus 2 of the 3 Roman teams that would merge in 1927 into [[AS Roma]], and [[SSC Napoli]] (newly formed from the merger of 2 previously separate Neapolitan clubs). Divisione Nazionale was based as per the previous Lega Nord on two non-regional groups, now composed of only ten clubs each. The top 3 teams in each of the 2 groups then played in a round robin finals competition to decide the national champion.

===Serie A formation===

Italian football was re-organised in 1929 to form a national 2 division hierarchic meritocracy, with end of season promotion and relegation between the 2 divisions. The two new divisions were branded Serie A and Serie B. The inaugural Serie A was won by [[Internazionale]] during the period they were called ''Ambrosiana''.

After [[World War II]] the North - South divisions of Divisione Nazionale were restored for the single 1945-46 season. Serie A was re-stored in 1946 and has continued to today.

===Scudetto and Coppa Campioni d'Italia===
The Italian league championship title is often referred to as the ''scudetto'' ("small shield"). That is since from 1923–24 season, the winner of the Italian football league set up adorned a small coat of arms with the [[flag of Italy|Italian tricolour]] on their strip in the following season.

An actual trophy is awarded to the winning club since [[1960–61 Serie A|1960–61 season]]. The trophy is called the [[Coppa Campioni d'Italia]]. Until 2004 it was presented to the winning club at the head office of the [[Lega Nazionale Professionisti]]. Since then the trophy has been presented on-pitch at the end of the last round of games.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

===21st century===

In April 2009, Serie A announced a split from Serie B. Nineteen of the twenty clubs voted in favour of the move in an argument over television rights; the relegation-threatened [[US Lecce|Lecce]] had voted against the decision. Maurizio Beretta, the former head of Italy's employers' association, became president of the new league.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8027857.stm |title=Serie A to form breakaway league – BBC Sport |work=BBC News |date=2009-04-30 |access-date=2010-10-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/165281-serie-a-clubs-to-set-up-their-own-league |title=Serie A clubs to set up their own league |website=Bleacher Report |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20141226012045/http://bleacherreport.com/articles/165281-serie-a-clubs-to-set-up-their-own-league |archive-date=2014-12-26 }}</ref><ref name="skysports">{{cite web|url=http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11854_5260115,00.html |title=Serie A set for breakaway |publisher=SkySports |date=2009-04-30 |access-date=2010-10-03}}</ref><ref name="guardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/apr/30/serie-a-b-european-football-italy |title=Italian league splits in two after meeting ends in stalemate |newspaper=Guardian |date= 2009-04-30|access-date=2010-10-03 | location=London}}</ref>

In April 2016, it was announced that Serie A was selected by the [[International Football Association Board]] to test video replays, which were initially private for the [[2016–17 Serie A|2016–17 season]], allowing them to become a live pilot phase, with replay assistance implemented in the [[2017–18 Serie A|2017–18 season]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.football-italia.net/103940/serie-will-start-var|title=Serie A will start with VAR|publisher=Football Italia|date=10 June 2017|access-date=10 June 2017}}</ref> On the decision, FIGC President [[Carlo Tavecchio]] said: "We were among the first supporters of using technology on the pitch and we believe we have everything required to offer our contribution to this important experiment."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/serie-selected-ifab-test-video-replay/|title=Serie A selected by IFAB to test video replay|publisher=sportsnet.ca|date=14 April 2016|access-date=15 April 2016}}</ref>

Serie A will continue the 20 club format after sixteen clubs voted against reducing the division to 18 teams in February 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Serie A clubs vote to keep 20-team league |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/68278402 |access-date=2024-02-12 |work=BBC Sport |language=en-GB}}</ref>