The 2013–14 Serie D was the sixty-sixth edition of the top level Italian non-professional football championship. It represented the fifth tier in the Italian football league system.
It consisted of 161 teams, after the exclusion of Nardò and including the retired Ragusa and Bojano. It was divided into eight 18-team divisions and a 17-team division.
Promotions
The nine division winners are automatically promoted to the new 2014–15 Serie C.
Playoffs
Teams placed second through fifth in each division enter a playoff tournament, after the regular season, where the nine winners will compete among themselves with the best semifinalist and the finalist of Coppa Italia Serie D to determine three of the four semi-finalists. The fourth is the winner of Coppa Italia Serie D. The winner could receive a professional licence in event of bankruptcy of a Serie C club.
Relegations
The two last-placed teams (17th and 18th) and the last (17th) in the Girone H, with the 16th if the 13th place is more of 8 points ahead of it and the 15th if the 14th place is more of 8 points ahead of this, are directly relegated. Otherwise the teams ranked 13th to 16th play a two-legged tie-breaker (13th vs 16th, and 14th vs 15th).
Scudetto Serie D
The nine division winners enter a tournament to determine the over-all Serie D champion and is awarded the Scudetto Serie D.
Events
Start of season
Given a normal season where there are no team failures and special promotions, Serie D would feature 9 teams that had been relegated from Seconda Divisione, 36 teams that had been promoted from Eccellenza, and 123 teams that had played in Serie D the year before.
Due to sixteen bankruptcies and exclusions, the 2013–14 season is to feature 5 teams that played in the 2012–13 Seconda Divisione season, 43 teams that played in the 2011–12 Eccellenza season and 115 teams that played in 2012–13 Serie D.
The league further admitted sixteen teams from Eccellenza to fill the vacancies created. These teams are:
Mezzocorona, which finished 17th in Serie D 2012–13 Girone B
Giorgione, which finished 17th in Serie D 2012–13 Girone C
Pontevecchio, which finished 14th in Serie D 2012–13 Girone E
R.C. Angolana, which finished 14th in Serie D 2012–13 Girone F
Recanatese, which finished 16th in Serie D 2012–13 Girone F
Budoni, which finished 13th in Serie D 2012–13 Girone G
Anziolavinio, which finished 14th in Serie D 2012–13 Girone G
Grottaglie, which finished 16th in Serie D 2012–13 Girone H
Ripa La Fenadora, which finished 2nd in Eccellenza Veneto Girone B and was eliminated in the national play-off
Triestina, which finished 2nd in Eccellenza Friuli-Venezia Giulia and was eliminated in the national play-off
Correggese, which finished 2nd in Eccellenza Emilia-Romagna Girone A and was eliminated in the national play-off
Sancolombano which finished 2nd in Eccellenza Lombardy Girone B and was eliminated in the national play-off
Giulianova, which finished 2nd in Eccellenza Abruzzo and was eliminated in the national play-off
Latte Dolce, which finished 2nd in Eccellenza Sardinia and was eliminated in the national play-off
Rende, which finished 2nd in Eccellenza Calabria and was eliminated in the national play-off
Due Torri, which finished 3rd in Eccellenza Sicily Girone B and was eliminated in the national play-off
Updated to match(es) played on 4 May 2014. Source: Datasport Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated Notes:
^Chiavari Caperana was excluded from competing next season.
Updated to match(es) played on 4 May 2014. Source: Datasport Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Updated to match(es) played on 4 May 2014. Source: Datasport Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated Notes:
^ abMarano and Trissino-Valdagno merged in the summer of 2014 to become F.C.D. Altovicentino.
Updated to match(es) played on 4 May 2014. Source: Datasport Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated Notes:
Updated to match(es) played on 4 May 2014. Source: Datasport Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated Notes:
Updated to match(es) played on 4 May 2014. Source: Datasport Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated Notes:
^Bojano was docked 1 point [4] and later an additional 3 points.
^On 6 April 2014, Bojano was excluded from the championship after renouncing to play its remaining 4 games, which were forfeited 0–3 in favor of their opponents. Club later refounded as SCD Bojano 62.
Updated to match(es) played on 4 May 2014. Source: Datasport Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated Notes:
Updated to match(es) played on 4 May 2014. Source: Datasport Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated Notes:
^ abcBrindisi and Puteolana Internapoli were docked 1 point, while Gladiator was docked 2 points.[6]
^On 6 November 2013, Nardò was excluded from the championship after renouncing to play four games in Serie D.[7] All the games played by the club were annulled. The club was later refounded as ACD Nardò in 2014 and admitted to Eccellenza Puglia.
Updated to match(es) played on 4 May 2014. Source: Datasport Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated Notes:
^ abcdBattipagliese, HinterReggio and Montalto Uffugo were docked 1 point, while Cavese was docked 4 points.
^On 29 January 2014, Ragusa was excluded from the championship after renouncing to play 4 games.[8] All their remaining matches were forfeited in favor of their opponents, 0–3. The club was later refounded as USD Ragusa.
Scudetto Dilettanti
First round
division winners placed into 3 groups of 3
group winners and best second-placed team qualify for semi-finals
Promotion playoffs involved a total of 33 teams; four from Serie D divisions A-B-H (teams placed from 2nd through to 5th) and three from divisions C-G and I (teams placed 2nd to 4th), with the best semifinalist, the finalist and the winner of Coppa Italia Serie D that are directly respectively admitted to the third, fourth round and the Semi-final.
Rules
First and second round
The first two rounds were one-legged matches played in the home field of the best-placed team.
The games ending in ties were extended to extra time. The higher classified team was declared the winner if the game was still tied after extra time. Penalty kicks were not taken.
Round one matched 2nd & 5th-placed teams and 3rd & 4th-placed teams within each division (A, B, H only); 2nd-placed teams got a bye to the second round, awaiting winner of 2nd team-4th team matches (for divisions C, D, F, G, I; 3rd team-5th team match for division E).
The two winners from each division played each other in the second round.
Third and fourth round
The nine winners – one each from the nine Serie D divisions – were qualified with division E 3rd-placer Arezzo, as the best ranked semifinalist of Coppa Italia Serie D to the third round, that was played in one-legged match in the home field of the best-placed team.
The five winners were qualified with division B 6th-placer Pontisola, as finalist of Coppa Italia Serie D to the fourth round, that was played in one-legged match in the home field of the best-placed team.
The games ending in ties were extended to penalty kicks without playing extra time.
Semifinals and final
The three 4th-round winners were qualified for the semifinal round, joining division I 11th-placer Pomigliano, as Coppa Italia Serie D winner.
The semifinals and the final, with the respective winners, were in a one-legged hosted in a neutral ground.
The games ending in ties were extended to penalty kicks without playing extra time.
Repechages
The tournament results provide a list, starting with the winner, by which vacancies could be filled in Serie C.
If the winner is not admitted to this league it gets €30,000, while the replacement (the finalist) instead gets €15,000.
First round
Borgosesia-Caronnese match played on 10 May 2014; all others played on 11 May 2014
Single-legged matches played at best-placed club's home field: 2nd-placed team plays home 5th-placed team, 3rd-placed team plays home 4th placed team (divisions A-B-H only)
Games ending in a tie are extended to extra time; if still tied, the higher-classified team wins