By Anthony Barbagallo
Key points:
- Sicily won’t have any football club representing the island in Italy’s top-two football divisions for the 2020-21 season
- More Sicilian football clubs are currently going bankrupt due to poor management
- 14 years ago the big Sicilian sides such as Catania and Palermo were playing top-flight football, and now they will face each other in the third division for the 2020-21 season
For the first time in 19 years, Sicily won’t have any of their football clubs representing the island in Italy’s top-two football divisions (Serie A and Serie B). Sicilian football has hit rock bottom.
When it comes to football – or Calcio as they say in Italy – Sicily has been just as renowned as mainland Italy in producing some of the most exceptional Italian football entertainment over the past 20 years. From big Sicilian sides such as Palermo, Catania, Messina and Trapani to minnow teams such as Siracusa, Acireale, Licata and Sicula Leonzio – Sicily has never been short of entertaining Italy’s top two divisions in the past. The pinnacle of Sicilian football is when the island boasted Palermo, Catania and Messina all playing in the 2006-07 Serie A top-flight. These clubs all used to provide the Italian national team with some homegrown talents.
For an island that has boasted over 30 professional and semi-professional teams for many years, this past season was grim for Sicilian football as the island only had three clubs playing in Italy’s professional divisions. Two sides that both played in the third tier (Serie C) have gone in entirely different directions. Sicula Leonzio, located in the province of Siracusa, is now on the brink of bankruptcy after failing to register for the 2020-21 season due to ownership instability.
Calcio Catania just avoided bankruptcy – gaining new owners to help propel them back to Serie B. But with Trapani Calcio – a team located in western Sicily – their recent relegation from the second division confirmed that Sicily would have none of its teams in Serie A or B for the first time in 19 years.
Lucia Nativo, a Sicilian football journalist, describes that these reoccurring bankruptcies within several Sicilian clubs are tarnishing the reputation of Sicily’s colouful football history.
“What we are experiencing is a sad page in Sicilian football. The island doesn’t boast any more prestige in having one or more teams in the Serie A or Serie B,” Lucia stated.
This past season saw teams like Trapani and Catania play decent football on the pitch, but the disorganisation from the management of both clubs overshadowed this. Getting into debt and not paying player wages on time has painted a bad picture for Sicilian football in recent times. But with bigger clubs in Sicily recently experiencing a downfall, this has allowed smaller provincial sides to rise. An example of smaller Sicilian teams catching up to the city clubs is Acireale and Licata.
“There is a difference in vision with Acireale and Licata in comparison to the Sicilian giants. Both these clubs work closely with the fans, have organised management that adapts well with modern football and boast good scouting teams,” Lucia Nativo explains.
While it may sound exciting for the fans that the 2020-21 Serie C season will feature Catania, Palermo and Trapani in the same division, it will be a good wake up call to see where Sicilian football stands at this current time. With Sicily having three of its giant clubs playing top-flight football 14 years ago – and now having no teams featuring in any of Italy’s top-two divisions – Sicily is being left behind in comparison to other Italian regions in the football industry.