Rome is a two-club city, and the dividing line does not follow a river or a district — it runs straight through families. Brothers, neighbours and colleagues end up on opposite sides. The football clubs in Rome share a stadium, a city and the same immoderate passion, and absolutely nothing else. Since 2026 there has also been a third name on the map, and it comes from the coast.
Rome football: who plays where?
The picture for the 2026/27 season:
- Serie A: AS Roma, SS Lazio
- Serie C (Group B): Ostiamare, plus Guidonia Montecelio from the province
- Serie D and regional divisions: Trastevere, Roma City and a long list of neighbourhood clubs
The two big Roman football clubs share the Stadio Olimpico, north of the centre in the Foro Italico complex. That means a weekend in Rome almost always delivers at least one match in that bowl: when Roma are away, Lazio are usually at home, and vice versa.
AS Roma: the Giallorossi
AS Roma was created in 1927 by merging three clubs from the capital — Roman, Alba-Audace and Fortitudo — a politically driven operation intended to give Rome a side capable of competing with the industrial north. The yellow and red are the city’s colours, and the she-wolf on the badge points straight back to the founding myth.
The trophy cabinet is thinner than the fervour suggests: three league titles, in 1942, 1983 and 2001, plus the Conference League in 2022 under José Mourinho. The 1983 championship side of Falcão, Bruno Conti and Agostino Di Bartolomei remains the reference point for several generations of supporters.
Today this Rome football club is coached by Gian Piero Gasperini and qualified for the Champions League on the final day of the 2025/26 season. The 2026/27 campaign opens at the Olimpico against Fiorentina and ends at Cagliari on 30 May 2027. Meanwhile the new stadium at Pietralata is moving through the approval process: in time, Roma will leave the Olimpico behind.
SS Lazio: the Biancocelesti
Lazio is the older of the two, founded in 1900 by a group of athletes in the Prati district, well before Roma existed. The sky blue and white come from the Greek flag, a nod to the ancient Olympic Games — a detail that says plenty about the club’s origins as a broad sporting society rather than a football team alone.
Two league titles, in 1974 and 2000, and the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1999: again, a modest record set against a fiercely intense support. Sven-Göran Eriksson’s side, with Nesta, Nedvěd and Salas, is still regarded as the historical peak.
The current picture is harder. After finishing seventh in 2025/26, Lazio have no European football this season and have turned to Gennaro Gattuso to rebuild. Their league campaign starts at Bologna on 23 August 2026 and finishes at the Olimpico against Fiorentina on 30 May 2027.
The Derby della Capitale: the real spectacle
If you only see one match, make it this one. Rome’s derby is among the most intense in Europe — not despite the two clubs sharing a ground but precisely because of it. The Curva Sud (Roma) and the Curva Nord (Lazio) stare at each other all season, and on derby day the whole Olimpico splits into two hostile blocks with choreographies, pyrotechnics and banners prepared weeks in advance.
For 2026/27, the first derby falls on the weekend of 13 December with Lazio as the home side, and the return on the weekend of 18 April 2027 at Roma. Tickets go fast and the sales rules are strict, so plan a long way ahead if this is the fixture you want.
Ostiamare: the capital’s third club
This season’s novelty comes from the seaside. Ostiamare, from the resort town of Ostia at the end of the train line, won Serie D in 2025/26 and now play in Serie C, in the Group B section for central Italy. Their owner and president since 2025 is Daniele De Rossi, a Roma legend.
That makes Ostiamare the third professional club in the capital, filling the gap left by vanished names such as Lodigiani and Cisco Roma. For a traveller it is an ideal addition: cheap tickets, neighbourhood-club atmosphere and the sea in the background. The regional derby against Guidonia Montecelio comes on matchday 14.
Planning a football trip to Rome
Tickets. Italy uses named ticketing: bring ID matching the name on the ticket. Buy Roma and Lazio tickets through official channels or authorised sellers, because unregulated resale causes real problems at the gate. For Ostiamare, the ticket window on the day is fine.
Getting there. Stadio Olimpico: tram 2 from Flaminio to the Mancini terminus, then across the Ponte Duca d’Aosta, or a bus from the centre. Allow extra time — security checks are slow for the big fixtures.
Around the ground. The Foro Italico, with its 1930s mosaics and statues, is worth seeing in its own right. The adjoining Ponte Milvio district holds most of the bars and restaurants for before and after.
Combine. Serie A at the Olimpico at the weekend and Serie C in Ostia midweek is a realistic three-day plan, with everything else Rome offers in between.
Final whistle
Rome cannot be reduced to two shirts. It is one stadium shared by two irreconcilable camps, a seaside club that has just entered the professional game with a club legend as its president, and a city where football is argued over at the bar with the same seriousness as politics. That combination is what makes the trip worth remembering.