Having secured tickets for the Carpi v Roma Serie A game in Modena on the Friday evening using the online booking system on the Carpi website, we are planning to take in the Lega Pro (3rd level) games at Reggio-Emilia (between Modena and Parma) and Rimini on the coast, south of Ravenna.
Lega Pro was formed in 2014 replacing Lega Pro 1 and Lega Pro 2 and comprises 3 regional leagues of twenty teams. In Lega Pro Group A Reggiana are playing Mantova on the Saturday at the stadium they share with Serie A's Sassuolo, the 21,000 capacity Mapei Stadium in Reggio-Emilia which was built in 1995. It was previously known as Stadio Citta del Tricolore before it was bought by the construction materials producer (Mapei). In Lega Pro Group B Rimini are at home to Rabur Siena in their 7, 000 capacity Stadio Romeo Neri.
Siena were relegated from Serie A in 2013 and announced their bankrupcy in 2014. The club were refounded later that year as Robur and started again in Serie D, gaining promotion to Lega Pro as winners of Group E.
Wilkie Tours have visited both Siena and Mantova previously in 2007 and 2011 respectively . Siena lost the Serie A game vs Livorno 2-3 with Maccorone, formerly of Middlesborough and still banging in the goals for Empoli getting one of the home goals. The Serie C2A (fourth tier at the time) game in Mantova versus Lecco finished 1-1; when we were asked where we were from by the locals at the stadium they remembered Guly do Prado the Brazilian who was playing for Southampton at the time and had played for Mantova on loan from Fiorentina in 2008. It's a small (football) world.