Roma’s Under‑23 ambition clashes with Serie C restrictions

John Galantic, the chief executive officer of Roma, appeared as a guest at the Festival dello Sport' in Trento and used the platform to outline the club’s long‑term blueprint for its youth set‑up, including a potential Under‑23 side that could compete in Serie C within the next few seasons.

CEO outlines three‑Pro projects

Galantic explained that the club cannot rely on player trading profits forever, quoting a manager from Boston who warned that “eventually you make a market mistake, it happens to everyone, you have to build talent at home”. He stressed that Roma has three Pro projects: a revamp of the youth academy, the creation of an Under‑23 team to bridge the gap to the prima squadra, and strategic synergies with the Cannes outfit in Francia.

The Under‑23 concept is intended to give emerging players a competitive platform before they step up to the first team. Galantic added that, in four years, the club’s new stadium will boost revenue dramatically, providing further resources for the youth pathway.

FIGC rules shape the squad

According to the current FIGC regulations, a Serie C second team may register up to twenty‑six players, with only four born before 1 January 2004. All other squad members must be born after 31 December 2003, and a maximum of seven players may have been registered with a FIGC‑affiliated club for fewer than seven seasons.

Players must not appear on the Serie A list of twenty‑five or have played more than fifty Serie A matches. Transfers between the first team and the Under‑23 side are permitted, and specific appearance thresholds apply for play‑off eligibility.

Potential candidates from Roma’s Primavera include goalkeeper Giorgio De Marzi (born 2007), striker Antonio Arena (born 2009), captain midfielder Alessandro Di Nunzio (born 2007), midfielder Muhammed Bah (born 2007) who is recovering from an ACL injury, and defenders Cristian Cama and Federico Terlizzi. Loaned youngsters already gaining Serie C experience are Mohamed Seck (born 2006, at Foggia), goalkeeper Radoslaw Zelezny (at Perugia), Marco Litti (at Lecco) and Federico Nardin (born 2007, at Pescara).

Additional players who meet the second‑team criteria but are unlikely to feature in Lega Pro include Emanuele Lulli and Niccolò Pisilli, both integrated into Gian Piero Gasperini’s first‑team project, as well as Robinio Vaz (Hull City), Jan Ziolkowski (Monza), Luigi Cherubini, Mattia Mannini (Benevento) and Filippo Reale (Carrarese).