Football in San Marino

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Football in San Marino
CountrySan Marino
Governing bodySan Marino Football Federation
National team(s)San Marino
Club competitions
San Marino Championship
International competitions

Football is the most popular sport in San Marino, as well as in Italy, the country within which it is an enclave.[1]

Domestic football

The

2007–08 competition, losing to Finland's Tampere United
.

San Marino also have a representative in the Italian system with

Stadio Olimpico of Serravalle
. They were founded as early as 1960, though at times have gone under different names and not been associated with the Sammarinese FA. They have returned as Victor San Marino after a 2 year absence in 2021.

San Marino also have two cup competitions in the country: Coppa Titano, founded in 1937, in which all the teams in the league compete, and the Super Coppa Sammarinese which is between the winner of the cup and the winner of the league.

San Marino has no women's league, with them purely being represented in the Italian league system. This began as early as the 1980's, though the team only lasted 7 years and resulted in most of the players moving to play with Italian clubs. The FA attempted again in 2000, bringing together players for training and building up to entering the Italian league. As the project strengthened, they organised friendlies against Italian sides and in 2004-05 they would enter the

San Marino Academy continue to represent the nation in Italian women's football. They competed in the 2020–21 Serie A (women) for their first season in the top flight, but were relegated. The team are not listed as mainly Sammarinese anymore though, and no national side has formed as of 2022, the last in UEFA to do so. Problems of dual nationality have also struck, with Chiara Beccari being capped for the Italian U-19 team.[2]

League system 2023–24

Level Leagues/Divisions
1 Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio
16 clubs

International football

The San Marino national team played its first unofficial international match in 1986, achieving a result of 0–1 against the Canadian Olympic team. San Marino's first competitive game was on 14 November 1990, scoring 0–4 against Switzerland in the European Championship qualifier. San Marino have participated in the qualifiers of every European Championship and World Cup, but have not won a match in either.[3]

San Marino faced England in a World Cup qualifier on 17 November 1993. San Marino took the lead through Davide Gualtieri after 8.3 seconds - the fastest goal in World Cup qualifier competition against a side who had previously qualified.[4] San Marino was placed third at international level where they achieved 7–1.[citation needed]

The team drew against Turkey and Latvia, after an international career that had seen them experience 70 defeats. On 29 April 2004, San Marino recorded their first win, 1–0 against Liechtenstein in an international friendly. Andy Selva scored the only goal.[5]

On 6 September 2006, San Marino lost 13–0 to

Republic of Ireland, Stephen Ireland had scored in the 94th minute, within 8 seconds of the final whistle which resulted in them staining a 1-1. The goal scored by San Marino was their first in a European Championship qualifier since scoring 4–1 to Austria in 1998.[6]

San Marino are as of November 2022 placed bottom in the

FIFA World Rankings at 211th.[7] On 10 September 2013, Alessandro Della Valle scored the first goal in competitive matches in five years, resulting in a 5–1 loss to Poland.[citation needed
]

Key San Marino players in the past have included Massimo Bonini, a midfielder who played for the national team as well as Italy's Juventus FC from 1981 to 1988.[8] Andy Selva is the national team's top scorer with eight goals.

Football stadiums in San Marino

Stadium Capacity City Image
Stadio Olimpico di San Marino
 6,664
Serravalle

See also

References

  1. ^ "One Win, 106 Losses, No Traffic Lights". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  2. ^ "San Marino Women's Football History - San Marino Academy". www.sanmarinoacademy.sm. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  3. ^ "San Marino football loses close one to Monrovia". Glendale News-Press. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  4. ^ England. "England v San Marino: Davide Gualtieri never tires of reliving the World Cup night in 1993". Telegraph. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  5. ^ "San Marino vs. Liechtenstein - Football Match Report - April 28, 2004 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  6. ^ "How do you improve world's worst national team?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  7. ^ "FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Bonini, San Marino's unsung hero". Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Football_in_San_Marino&oldid=1220149849"