PALERMO 
FOOTBALL CLUB

Palermo, one of the most popular teams in Italy, was brought into the City Football Group family in July 2022. With its famous pink kit leading to the nickname ‘I Rosanero’ (the Pinks and Blacks), the Sicilian team has a long and decorated history that CFG is committed to preserving and building on. 

Five times Serie B champions, the Club were born in 1900 and were first known as Anglo Palermitan Athletic and Football Club. There was a name change to Palermo Football Club in 1903 – and then today’s colours of pink and black were adopted shortly after in 1907.

After World War I, following the union with the Libertas team, there was a third name tweak to Unione Sportiva Palermo, though this was swiftly changed back to Palermo FC in 1927 after a merger with Vigor Palermo.

Initially playing in the third tier of the national competition, they were promoted to Serie B in 1930 and first tasted Serie A in 1932. At that point, they relocated to Stadio Littorio, today known as the Stadio Renzo Barbera, named after the Chairman in 1970 and has a capacity of 36,000.

Palermo bounced from league to league post World War II and also suffered financial issues that at one point led them to Serie C2. They didn’t return to Serie A until 2003/04 after a wait of 31 years. They celebrated in style with a 6th place finish in 2004/05 in their first year back in the top flight and thus qualifying for the UEFA Cup for the first time. Palermo went on to qualify for that competition three years in a row and backed that up in 2010/11 when they played in the UEFA Europa League. 

After nine successive seasons in the top flight, Palermo were relegated to Serie B before bouncing straight back with a then-record total of 86 points. Relegation to Serie B came again in 2016/17, and by 2019, they were in Serie D for a season before bouncing back at the first attempt. Promotion to Serie B was secured in June 2022 after which CFG made its majority purchase, describing Palermo as “a great and historic Club with a strong and proud identity” and Italian football as “some of the most exciting in the world.”

Palermo Women compete in the national third division championship after being relegated from Serie B in 2022. In 2023, a new sports project was launched with the ambition of returning to Serie A as soon as possible, focusing heavily on developing young talent from the region.