SPAL

the police service
Italian association football club based in Ferrara, Emilia Romagna

Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor, commonly referred to by the acronym SPAL , is a professional football club based in Ferrara, Emilia Romagna, Italy. The team currently plays in Serie C, the third tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in 1907, since 1928 they have played their home matches at Stadio Paolo Mazza, named after Paolo Mazza (chairman of the club 1946–1977). In total, SPAL have participated in 24 top tier, 28 second tier, 42 third tier, 7 fourth tier and 1 fifth tier league seasons. The club's best finish was when they came fifth in the 1959–60 Serie A; they also reached the 1961–62 Coppa Italia final. The club is chaired by the American Joe Tacopina, the current manager is Domenico Di Carlo.

The club was founded in March 1907 as Circolo Ars et Labor (Latin for Art and Work Club) by the Salesian priest Pietro Acerbis. In the early stages, it was mainly a cultural and religious association, then in 1913 it became a multi sports company, taking the name of Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor (Latin for Sports Club Society of Art and Work) The team began its professional activity under the aegis of the Italian Football Federation (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio) in 1919, competing in the second tier tournament. SPAL played in the top flight league from 1920 to 1925, reaching the qualification playoff for the National Finals in 1921–22. From 1925 until the Second World War, they played in Serie B and Serie C: in this period, the club's all time top striker Mario Romani scored 130 goals in 189 games during two different periods with the white blues (1925–32 and 1937–38). Between 1939 and 1943 the club temporarily changed its name to A. C. Ferrara, wearing the black and white colours of the city. After the suspension of the championships due to war, in 1945 the club returned to the name SPAL and to the light blue and white kits.

In 1946 Paolo Mazza became chairman of the club. After five consecutive seasons in Serie B, SPAL won promotion to Serie A after finishing the championship first in 1950–51. The white blues subsequently stayed in the top division for most of the 1950s and 1960s, competing in 16 out of 17 Serie A seasons from 1951 to 1968. SPAL finished fifth in 1959–60, thus obtaining the best placement in its history. Also, in 1961–62 they played in the Coppa Italia final, losing against Napoli. In the early stages of 1962–63 season, in which the club finished in eighth place, the white and blues reached the top of the league table. During those years, the club was a launchpad for many young players, among them Fabio Capello. In 1963–64 they were relegated to Serie B, but they came back to Serie A after only one year, and remained in the top division until 1968. At the end of the last season in the top flight, SPAL won the Cup of Italian Swiss Friendship.

During 1970s, 1980s and 1990s SPAL played mostly in Serie B and Serie C/C1. Paolo Mazza quit the presidency in December 1976 and was replaced by Primo Mazzanti. The former chairman died in December 1981 and three months later Ferrara's Stadio Comunale was named after him. In 1990, Giovanni Donigaglia became chairman of the club: between 1990 and 1992 SPAL obtained back to back promotions from Serie C2 to Serie B, under the management of Giovan Battista Fabbri. Donigaglia left the presidency in 2002 with the squad in Serie C1. He was replaced by Lino di Nardo.

The club went bankrupt in 2005, and were reformed as SPAL 1907 S. r. l., under the terms of Article 52 of N. O. I. F. In the summer of 2012, after suffering a second bankruptcy, the club was refounded for the second time as S. s. d. Real SPAL and would begin life in Serie D under the same N. O. I. F. article. At the end of the 2012–13 season the club took back its original name. Giacomense, a club founded in 1967 at Masi San Giacomo, a frazione of Masi Torello, had moved to the city of Ferrara; on 12 July 2013, owner Roberto Benasciutti made a deal with the Colombarini family for a merger between SPAL and Giacomense, with the latter giving its sports title to SPAL and continuing to play in Ferrara. The club changed its name to S. P. A. L. 2013, in order to continue the football history of SPAL. Walter Mattioli became president, with Simone and Francesco Colombarini as main shareholders. They finished the 2013–14 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione season in sixth place, thus qualifying for the inaugural unified 2014–15 Lega Pro season. In 2015–16, the squad won promotion to Serie B for the first time since the 1992–93 season, after finishing first in group B of the Lega Pro. The following year they came first in Serie B, thus obtaining promotion to Serie A after a 49 year absence. In their first season back in Serie A, SPAL avoided relegation by finishing in 17th place. At the end of the 2018–19 season they confirmed their presence in the top flight for a third consecutive year, finishing 13th. The club had mixed fortunes in the 2019–2020 season and, after gaining just 15 points in 23 games, coach Leonardo Semplici was dismissed in February 2020, replaced by Luigi Di Biagio. SPAL were relegated to Serie B, finishing in last place with 20 points. The club reached the 2020–21 Coppa Italia quarter finals, becoming the only team from Serie B to advance to that stage in the competition. In August 2021, the club was acquired by the American lawyer and businessman Joe Tacopina. Some media say that the real owners behind Mr. Tacopina are brothers Alessandro Bazzoni and Lorenzo Bazzoni, Italian businessmen presumed to be linked with the government of Nicolas Maduro. On January 25, 2024 Tacopina revealed the name of the new co owner of the club, American broker and businessman Marcello Follano, with whom he founded a new parent company controlling SPAL, Tacollano Holdings LLC.

The team's colours are light blue and white, which derive from the Salesians' emblem. The home kit, since 1962, has been composed of a vertical striped light blue white shirt, white trainers and white socks. The only exception to light blue and white was when the club adopted a black and white kit between 1939 and 1943 (when it was named A. C. Ferrara), in honour of Ferrara's civic colours. The team's badge features an oval shaped light blue escutcheon, with a white band in the upper section, on which is written the acronym S. P. A. L. in golden characters. Also, in the lower section, the black and white emblem of the city is featured. From 1980 until mid 1990s, the official badge featured a fawn, another symbol of the club. SPAL's most common nicknames are Biancazzurri (from the club colours, light blue and white) and Estensi (from the House of Este, ancient European noble dynasty that ruled Ferrara from 1264 to 1598).

Below a chronological list of SPAL captains since 1950. NameYears Giovanni Emiliani1950–53 Marcello Castoldi1953–54 Edoardo Dal Pos1954–59 Oscar Massei1959–61 Sergio Cervato1961–65 Oscar Massei1965–68 Carlo Dell'Omodarme1968–69 Enrico CairoliJul. 1969–Oct. 1973 Lucio MongardiOct. 1973–Jun. 1975 Sergio Reggiani1975–76 Ottavio Bianchi1976–77 Franco Pezzato1977–79 Mauro Gibellini1979–81 Rosario Rampanti1981–82 Mirco Brilli1982–83 Giuseppe De Gradi1983–85 Elio Gustinetti1985–86 Fabio Perinelli1986–87 Arturo Vianello1987–88 Massimo Pellegrini1988–89 Francesco Cini1989–90 Franco Fabbri1990–91 Giuseppe Brescia1991–93 NameYears Andrea Mangoni1993–94 Giuseppe Brescia1994–96 Eugenio Sgarbossa1996–97 Fausto Pari1997–98 Alfonso Greco 1998–99 Massimo Gadda1999–00 Emanuele CancellatoJul. 2000–Jan. 2002 Cristian ServideiJan. 2002–Jun. 2002 Francesco Zanoncelli2002–03 Manuel Milana2003–06 David Sesa2006–08 Luis Fernando CentiJul. 2008–Feb. 2009 Marco ZamboniFeb. 2009–Jun. 2012 Davide Marchini2012–13 Massimiliano Varricchio2013–14 Nicolas Giani2014–17 Luca MoraJul. 2017–Jan. 2018 Mirco AntenucciJan. 2018–Jun. 2019 Sergio Floccari2019–21 Francesco Vicari2021–22 Salvatore EspositoJul. 2022–Jan. 2023 Lorenzo DickmannJan. 2023–Jul.2023 Mirco Antenucci2023–

SPAL have had several presidents (chairmen) ( or ) over the course of their history. Some of them have been the main shareholder of the club. The longest serving is Paolo Mazza. NameYears Don Pietro Acerbis1907–11 Conte Buosi1911–12 Aminta Gulinati1912–15 Antonio Santini1919–21 Enrico Bassani1921–24 Gaetano Ridolfi1924–27 Giannino Bonfiglioli1927–28 On. Ferri1928–31 Giuseppe Turbiani Carlo Osti1931–32 Comm. Gandini1932–33 Umberto Barbè Giulio Divisi1933–34 Luigi Orsi1934–35 Giovanni Argazzi1935–36 Nino Fiorini1936–37 Angelo Vissoli1937–39 NameYears Annio Bignardi1939–41 Augusto Caniato1941–43 Edmondo Bucci1945–46 Paolo Mazza1946–77 Primo Mazzanti1977–85 Giorgio Rossatti1985–86 Francesco Nicolini1986–89 Albersano Ravani1989–90 Giovanni Donigaglia1990–96 Vanni Guzzinati1996–97 Giovanni Donigaglia1997–02 Lino Di Nardo2002–05 Gianfranco Tomasi2005–08 Cesare Butelli2008–12 Roberto Ranzani2012–13 Walter Mattioli2013–21 Joe Tacopina2021–

Below is a table showing the recordmen of matches played and goals scored for SPAL in the Italian football leagues.

Below is a list of titles and cups won by SPAL throughout their history.