club having either won the Campionato
or finished runners-up since it first began
in 1985. But that is also partly due to a
convoluted league system that does not
even include the country’s biggest team,
as San Marino Calcio play in Italy’s Seriefinancial report, Sammarinese clubs get
no money from transfers, with only 14
per cent of revenue coming from gate
receipts. There is no money from
broadcast rights as only the Campionato
Final is shown on live television.
Instead, clubs rely on what UEFA
describes as “‘other revenue”. For
example, La Fiorita receive backing from
a cleaning company, a health clinic and
the national bank, while Tre Penne’s
sponsors include a garage and a fashion
boutique sponsor. Clubs such as Virtus
run their own lotteries.
This sharing of UEFA money has
certainly produced diversity, with every
D and stage home games 75km away
in Ravenna with a team that features few
Sammarinese players.
Today’s Campionato has 15 teams –
after Aurora failed in the 1980s and two
other sides merged in 2000 – and each
September they are split into two groups:
one of eight clubs and one of seven.
After playing each other once, a top
division (Group 1) is created with the top
four from each group. The others go into
a second-tier group (Group 2). The top
six teams from Group 1 and the leading
pair from Group 2 then enter a knockout
to determine the national champion.
This system allowed Tre Penne toAdventure...Tre Fiori
(white shorts) take
on Bala Town in last
season’s Europa
League
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