The Coppa Italia

The Coppa Italia is open to a defined group of professional Italian clubs from Serie A, Serie B and selected Serie C clubs. It is an all-knockout competition. Every round is played as a single match except for the two-legged semi-finals. In the preliminary round, first round, second round, round of 16 and quarter-finals, level matches go straight to penalties after 90 minutes. In the semi-finals, extra time and penalties are used if the aggregate score is level after the second leg; in the final, extra time is used before penalties if needed.

The competition was launched in 1922 but had a disrupted early history. The 1926-27 tournament was abandoned, there were long gaps before and after the Second World War, and the Coppa Italia did not become a continuous annual competition until it was reintroduced in 1958. The winners are awarded a coccarda — a tricolour cockade similar to the roundels worn on military aircraft — which the holders display on their shirts the following season. In the modern format, winning the Coppa Italia can also provide a route into European competition.

The competition is drawn as a complete bracket at the start of each season — every round's pairings are known in advance, rather than being drawn round by round as in the FA Cup. This is distinctive among major European cup competitions and means clubs can see their potential path through the tournament from the start. The bracket is seeded, with the leading Serie A clubs placed apart so they can only meet in the later rounds.

The eight lowest-seeded clubs play a preliminary round in August. The first main round then brings in 28 more clubs, including most Serie A and Serie B sides. The next round reduces the field before the eight seeded clubs enter directly at the round of 16. The quarter-finals are single-match ties, the semi-finals are played over two legs, and the final is a single match usually staged in May.

The competition begins in early August, ahead of the Serie A season, and usually ends with the final in mid-May. Most ties are played on midweek dates so the competition can fit around Serie A and European fixtures. The highest-seeded Serie A clubs enter later, at the round of 16, which helps reduce early-season fixture congestion for clubs also playing in Europe.

The final has usually been staged at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome since 2008, with one notable exception in 2021 when the final was held at the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia during the COVID-19 period. The rules state that the final is held in principle at the Stadio Olimpico, or at another venue chosen by Lega Serie A.

The competition is restricted to clubs from the top three tiers of Italian football — all 20 Serie A clubs, all 20 Serie B clubs, and four Serie C clubs put forward by Lega Pro and approved by Lega Serie A. Under the ranking system used for the 2024-25 to 2026-27 competition cycle, the Serie C places are normally linked to the previous season's Serie C group runners-up and the Coppa Italia Serie C winners, with replacement rules for promoted, ineligible, or otherwise overlapping clubs.

The Coppa Italia is therefore narrower in scope than the FA Cup in England, which is open to clubs across many levels of the English pyramid. Lower-tier and amateur Italian clubs compete in other cup competitions, including the Coppa Italia Serie C and competitions for non-professional clubs, rather than entering the main Coppa Italia directly.

Two clubs from outside Serie A have won the Coppa Italia in its history — Vado, who won the inaugural 1922 edition while playing below the top division, and Napoli, who won in 1962 while playing in Serie B. The narrower field means giant-killing moments are less frequent than in cup competitions that include many lower-tier clubs, although the early rounds can still produce surprises when Serie B or Serie C clubs face Serie A opposition.

The Coppa Italia winners normally qualify for the next UEFA Europa League league phase. If the winners have already qualified for Europe through Serie A, the European access list is adjusted through the domestic league route, so the next-best eligible finishers in Serie A benefit.

The Coppa Italia winners and runners-up also form part of the modern Supercoppa Italiana format, alongside the top two Serie A finishers, with replacement rules if the same clubs occupy more than one qualifying place. In recent seasons, the Supercoppa has been played as a winter four-team mini-tournament with semi-finals and a final at a single host venue. The Supercoppa is smaller than the Coppa Italia, but it gives cup finalists an additional high-profile fixture and another chance to win silverware.

The first Coppa Italia was held in 1922, with Vado winning the inaugural final against Udinese. The early years were uneven: the 1926-27 tournament was abandoned, the competition returned in the 1930s, and it was then interrupted again during and after the Second World War. It only became a continuous annual competition from 1958 onwards.

The format has been refined across the modern era, with the 44-club structure applying to the 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2026-27 editions. The Coppa Italia has produced regular memorable finals across its history, including Internazionale's 2010 win over Roma as part of their treble season, Bologna's long-awaited 2025 triumph, and Inter's 2026 win over Lazio to complete a domestic double.