Serie C promotion play-offs (Italy) - a post-season play-off competition within Italy’s third-tier professional system run under the FIGC framework and organised by Lega Pro, used to determine the fourth club that earns the right to be admitted to Serie B. Regulations: 28 teams take part - the clubs finishing 2nd to 10th in each of the three Serie C groups plus the Coppa Italia Serie C winner, with the cup slot passing to the losing finalist or, if needed, being filled by league position down to 11th in the relevant group under the prescribed sliding mechanism. The competition is played in three phases: the group play-off phase, the national play-off phase and the Final Four. In the group phase, 21 teams (4th to 10th in each group) play two single-match rounds hosted by the higher-ranked side: Round 1 pairs 5th-10th, 6th-9th, 7th-8th, and if level after 90 minutes the higher-ranked team qualifies, then Round 2 adds the 4th-placed team and pairs are set by seeding (best v worst and the remaining two), with the higher-ranked team qualifying if level after 90 minutes, and the three group winners advance to the national phase. The national phase is two two-legged rounds: Round 1 features 10 teams (the six group-phase winners, the three 3rd-placed teams and the Coppa Italia Serie C winner or substitute), drawn into five ties with five seeded teams hosting the second leg, and if level on aggregate points after two legs goal difference is applied, and if still level the seeded team qualifies, with no extra time or penalties. Round 2 features eight teams (the five Round 1 winners plus the three 2nd-placed teams), again with seeding and the same tie-breaking method, with the seeded team qualifying if still level. The Final Four is played over two-legged semi-finals and a two-legged final, and if still level after the second leg on aggregate points and goal difference extra time is played and then penalties if required, with the final winner earning the right to be admitted to Serie B, while cross-group ranking for seeding and for identifying the better-ranked team follows FIGC criteria and may use an equalisation coefficient if groups have a different number of matches.
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