Serie BKT: 2018-19 calendar with 19 clubs drawn on 13/08/2018, Matchday 1 on 25/08/2018

The draw for the 2018-19 Serie BKT calender, with 19 participating clubs (rather than the usual 22), took place at the Lega Serie B headquarters in Milan (ITA) on Monday 13/08/2018 at 19:00 CET (document available to download).

The ceremony, scheduled at 19:00 CET, began an hour and a half late after waiting for the green light from the Italian Football Federation. "We have respectfully waited for instructions from the FIGC, we have created a legitimate body of 19 Serie B clubs and we have acted with fairness and transparency," said Mauro Balata, president of the Lega Serie B.

The uncontested exclusions of Bari and Cesena (both companies went bankrupt) for failing to submit the regulatory documents on 16/07/2018, followed by the administrative exclusion of Avellino, confirmed by the CONI (Italian Olympic Committee, highest sports authority in the country), then by the Administrative Court of Lazio, for lack of financial guarantees on 07/08/2018, reduced the number of clubs in the league from 22 to 19. The Lega Serie B has chosen to keep the number of teams at 19 despite the…