FSGC, yesterday the draws for the new season: immediate blockbuster tie in the cup Round of 16

Last night, at the Casa del Calcio, the draws were held for the Coppa Titano BKN301 and the Campionato Sammarinese BKN301 for the 2023-2024 season, which on the pitch will kick off on Friday 1 September with the San Marino Super Cup final between Tre Penne and Virtus. Opening the evening was Andrea Nardoni: the FSGC Head of Marketing proudly presented the figures from the first season of Titani.TV, the Federation’s OTT platform which broadcast all matches from last season’s domestic football, a large part of San Marino’s European summer and San Marino Academy fixtures, several National Team games and the most important clashes from the futsal season. Then, in front of an audience made up of the Federation’s top officials and representatives of FSGC-affiliated clubs, plus the new entry San Marino Academy Under 22, Secretary General Luigi Zafferani and Federal Councillor Jessica Guidi carried out the draws that determined the line-up for the first matchday of the league, which in turn automatically established the schedule for the remainder of the regular season. As in the most recent editions, the latter will consist of thirty matchdays in total. The big change is the removal of the rest round, thanks to the introduction of a sixteenth team in the shape of San Marino Academy Under 22, the federal project aimed at increasing the potential of San Marino players eligible for the Under-21 National Team. As a result, the number of matches scheduled in each round rises from seven to eight, and for this very reason – as Secretary Zafferani underlined – the occasional adoption of kick-off times different from the more traditional 15:00 cannot be ruled out, even though this will remain the main slot; for the same reason, Friday evening advance fixtures also remain a possibility, something by no means unprecedented for the Titano’s top competition. The very last details are still being finalised (they will be announced in the coming days), but what is certain is that the weekend of 17 September will “host” the opening matchday of the Campionato Sammarinese BKN301. San Marino Academy will begin their campaign against San Giovanni and will conclude it – still talking about the regular season – against Cailungo. Reigning champions Tre Penne will start their title defence against Juvenes-Dogana, while last year’s runners-up Cosmos open against Domagnano. La Fiorita-Libertas immediately grabs the spotlight, as does Tre Fiori–Virtus. Immediately afterwards, Secretary Zafferani and Councillor Valeria Canini moved on to the draw for the Coppa Titano bracket.Here there are no changes compared to last season, as San Marino Academy will not take part in the oldest competition in the Titano. Consequently, the four seeded teams retain fixed positions, starting with Virtus who, as defending champions, go straight into the quarter-finals, where they will meet the winner of the tie between Domagnano and Murata. Remaining in the same half of the draw, Tre Fiori – third in the ranking – are automatically assigned position number eight and are paired from the pot with Faetano, for an all-yellow-and-blue derby with a place in the quarter-finals at stake, a target also pursued by the winner of Folgore vs Pennarossa. At the opposite end of the bracket to Virtus are last season’s other finalists, namely Tre Penne, who will begin their campaign with a tie that can safely be described as the most eagerly awaited of the entire Round of 16 schedule: the clash with Cosmos. The winners will face either Juvenes-Dogana or Libertas. Just above them, La Fiorita – another seeded team – start out against Cailungo. The better of the two will then face whoever comes through the two-legged tie between Fiorentino and San Giovanni. The Coppa Titano BKN301 will kick off with midweek fixtures on 27 September. The second legs of the quarter-finals will be held just under a month later, in the midweek round of 25 October.

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