The
Italian football league system, also known as the
Italian football pyramid, refers to the hierarchically interconnected
league system for the
association football in Italy, that consists of 594 divisions having 3332 teams (excluding
Seconda and
Terza Categoria), in which all divisions are bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation, with one team from
San Marino also competing. The system has a hierarchical format with
promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, allowing even the smallest club the theoretical possibility of ultimately rising to the very top of the system.