Serie A, also called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa Campioni d'Italia. It has been operating as a round-robin tournament for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been organized by the Direttorio Divisioni Superiori until 1943 and the Lega Calcio until 2010, when the Lega Serie A was created for the 2010–11 season. Serie A is regarded as one of the best football leagues in the world and it is often depicted as the most tactical national league. Serie A was the world's second-strongest national league in 2014 according to IFFHS. Serie A is ranked fourth among European leagues according to UEFA's league coefficient, behind La Liga, the Premier League and the Bundesliga, and ahead of Ligue 1, which is based on the performance of Italian clubs in the Champions League and the Europa League during the last five years. Serie A led the UEFA ranking from 1986 to 1988 and from 1990 to 1999.
Preston North End Football Club is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, whose team currently plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Originally a cricket club, Preston have been based at Deepdale since 1875. The club first took up football in 1878 as a winter fitness activity and decided to focus on it in May 1880, when the football club was officially founded. Deepdale is now football's oldest ground in terms of continuous use by a major league club.
Brentford Football Club is a professional association football club based in Brentford, Greater London, England. The club competes in the Sky Bet Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded on 10 October 1889 and has played its home matches at Griffin Park since 1904, after a nomadic existence playing at five previous grounds.
Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard is a French association football club based in the city of Montbéliard. The club was founded in 1928 and currently plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football, after having finished 18th and being relegated from Ligue 1 in the 2013–14 season. Sochaux plays its home matches at the Stade Auguste Bonal, located within the city.
Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire is a French professional football club based in Saint-Étienne in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, The club was founded in 1919 and plays in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Saint-Étienne plays it's home matches at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. The team is managed by Claude Puel and captained by Loïc Perrin, who started his career at the club in 1996. Saint-Étienne is known as Les Verts meaning "the Greens" due to its home colours.
Montpellier Hérault Sport Club, commonly referred to as Montpellier HSC or simply Montpellier, is a French professional association football club based in the city of Montpellier in Occitanie. The original club was founded in 1919, while the current incarnation was founded through a merger in 1974. Montpellier currently plays in Ligue 1, the top level of French football and plays its home matches at the Stade de la Mosson, located within the city. The first team is managed by Michel Der Zakarian and captained by defender Hilton.
Paris Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris FC or simply PFC, is a French professional football club based in Paris. The club was founded in 1969 and competes in the Ligue 2, the second level of French football. Paris FC play their home matches at the Stade Charléty, which is located in the 13th arrondissement of Paris.
The Kolpak ruling is a European Court of Justice ruling handed down on 8 May 2003 in favour of Maroš Kolpak, a Slovak handball player. It declared that citizens of countries which have signed European Union Association Agreements have the same right to freedom of work and movement within the EU as EU citizens. Thus any restrictions placed on their right to work are deemed illegal under EU law. The legal actions in Germany set a precedent for professional sports in Europe, which have had a wide-ranging effect, especially in regard to English county cricket and European professional rugby.
Valenciennes Football Club is a French association football club based in Valenciennes. The club was founded in 1913 and currently play in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. Valenciennes plays its home matches at the recently built Stade du Hainaut located within the city.
The Tottenham Hotspur Academy was created to train and develop players from the age of eight right up to the age of 23. Many of whom have progressed through Tottenham's youth academy have gone on to sign professional contracts and represent their country at International level.
Middlesbrough F.C. Reserves and Academy are the under-23 and under-18 teams of Middlesbrough F.C.
Armadale Soccer Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Armadale, Western Australia. Armadale currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Western Australia, with matches played at Alfred Skeet Oval.
Sportklub Niederösterreich St. Pölten is an Austrian association football club from Sankt Pölten, capital of the Austrian state of Lower Austria. St. Pölten play in the Austrian Bundesliga, which is the top tier of the Austrian football league system.
Club Deportivo Basconia is a Spanish football club based in Basauri, Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded in 1 January 1913 it currently plays in Tercera División – Group 4, holding home games at Estadio de López Cortázar, with an 8,500-seat capacity.
FC Arsenal Tula are a Russian football team from Tula playing in the Russian Football Premier League.
Stoke City Football Club Under-23s is the most senior of Stoke City's youth teams and the club's former reserve team. The Under-23 team is effectively Stoke City's second-string side. They play in Premier League 2 Division 2. The team also competes in the Premier League Cup and Staffordshire Senior Cup.
Melbourne Victory U23 is the youth system of Melbourne Victory Football Club. The youth teams play in the Y-League and National Premier Leagues. Gareth Naven is the current youth manager.
Colchester United Football Club Under-23s are the under-23 team of Colchester United Football Club. They play in the South Division of the Professional U21 Development League 2, the second tier of reserve football in England. The team mostly consists of the club's under-23 players, although senior players have occasionally made appearances for the side, for instance, during recovery from injury. The team are coached by Richard Hall.
Cerezo Osaka Under−23 is a Japanese football team based in Osaka. It is the reserve team of Cerezo Osaka and currently plays in J3 League which they have done since their entry to the league at the beginning of the 2016 season. They play the majority of their home games at Kincho Stadium.
Nottingham Forest Under-23s are the reserve team of Nottingham Forest. The team mainly consists of Under-23 players at the club, although senior players occasionally play in the reserve side, for instance when they are recovering from injury.
