Coppa Italia Draw

The draw for the new-look Coppa Italia has been made this afternoon.

The 2007-08 tournament has been revamped to try and recapture the public’s attention in the wake of poor attendances and thinning TV audiences in recent years.

This year Serie C sides will not be involved. The 42 Serie A and Serie B clubs will enter the competition at various stages depending on the position they finished in their respective Leagues last season. The other major change will see the first three rounds and the Final being played over single matches, while the rest will be two-legged encounters as usual.

Serie A clubs who finished between ninth and 17th last season enter the fray at the third round stage along with the Serie B champions Juventus.

Last season’s winners Roma enter the competition in the fourth round along with those sides that finished in the top seven and qualified for European football this season.

The opening round will see relegated sides Ascoli, Chievo and Messina face Ravenna, Avellino and Vicenza respectively. They will also be joined in the first round by Napoli and Genoa as they finished second and third in Serie B last term. Both have home games against Cesena and Grosseto respectively.

The only clashes already definite for the third round see Juve face Parma and Cagliari play Siena on August 29.

The Final will take place on May 24, 2008 with a venue yet to be decided.

First Round Draw
Matches to be played on August 15
Rimini v Frosinone
Treviso v Lecce
Messina v Vicenza
Bari v Albinoleffe
Bologna v Modena
Triestina v Mantova
Piacenza v Spezia
Ravenna v Chievo
Genoa v Grosseto
Napoli v Cesena
Avellino v Ascoli
Napoli v Cesena
Pisa v Brescia

[Full Coppa Italia Draw]

Source: C4 Football Italia / Lega Calcio