Lega Pro is an Italian football league that sits below Serie C in the professional pyramid. The spelling of "Lega Pro" follows the Italian language's rules of pronunciation. "Lega" is pronounced "Le-ga," with stress on the first syllable, while "Pro" is pronounced "pro," with stress on the second syllable. Using IPA phonetic transcription, "Lega" can be written as /ˈle.ɡa/, and "Pro" as /pro/. This phonetic transcription helps non-native Italian speakers to pronounce the word accurately.
Lega Pro refers to the Italian professional football league system which acts as the third and fourth levels of Italian football. The term "Lega Pro" is derived from "Lega Professionisti," which translates to the "Professional League" in English. The Lega Pro consists of two divisions: Serie C and Serie D.
Serie C, officially known as Serie C Unicusano due to sponsorship reasons, is the third level of Italian football. It is divided into three separate geographical groups: Serie C/A, Serie C/B, and Serie C/C. Each group consists of teams from different regions of Italy and operates as a separate division. The champion of each group earns automatic promotion to Serie B, the second-highest level of Italian football, while the bottom-placed teams face relegation to Serie D.
Serie D, on the other hand, is the fourth level of Italian football and represents the highest regional league in the country. It is divided into nine different divisions based on geographic regions. Serie D functions as a semi-professional league, and teams within this division can earn promotion to Serie C based on sporting merit.
Lega Pro provides a platform for teams to progress within the Italian football league system, allowing them to compete at increasingly higher levels and potentially reach the pinnacle of Italian football, Serie A.
The term "Lega Pro" is derived from Italian and has its roots in the organizational structure of professional football in Italy.
The word "Lega" means "league" in Italian, referring to an association or organization that governs and organizes sports competitions. "Pro" is a shortened form of "professionisti", which means "professionals" in Italian.
"Lega Pro" specifically refers to the third-highest professional football league in Italy. It was formerly known as "Serie C" (Serie C1 and Serie C2), but in 2008, it underwent a rebranding and was renamed "Lega Pro".
The etymology of the term lies in the Italian language, where "Lega" represents the league's governing body, and "Pro" signifies the professional status of the players and clubs participating in the competition.