US Lecce

The US Lecce crest shows a she-wolf standing beneath a holm oak (leccio) tree, a symbol drawn directly from the coat of arms of the city itself and linked to the ancient Roman colony of Lupiae. It is from this same tree that Lecce, the capital of the Salento region in Apulia, takes its name, and the club has long carried the nicknames I Lupi (The Wolves) and I Salentini.

The club's history began on 15 March 1908 with the founding of Sporting Club Lecce. Its current legal identity, Unione Sportiva Lecce, was formed on 16 September 1927 through the merger of two local clubs, FBC Juventus and Gladiator. It was at that point that the team adopted its now-familiar yellow-and-red colours (giallorossi), replacing Sporting Club's earlier black-and-white kit.

Lecce first reached the top flight of Italian football in the 1984–85 season, making its Serie A debut the following year. The club's best-ever league finish came in 1988–89, when it ended the season in ninth place. One of the most memorable moments in its history remains a 4–3 away win over Juventus at the Stadio delle Alpi in Turin on 25 April 2004, with goals from, among others, Daniele Franceschini and Javier Chevantón.

After years of shuttling between Serie A and the lower divisions, the club found genuine renewal under president Saverio Sticchi Damiani, who took charge in 2015. The 2017–18 season, under coach Fabio Liverani, brought the Serie C title, followed a year later by promotion to Serie A after finishing second in Serie B — a rare back-to-back double jump from the third tier to the top flight within two seasons.

Lecce plays its home matches at Stadio Via del Mare, opened in 1966 and substantially rebuilt in 1985, today named after Ettore Giardiniero, a former mayor of the city. The ground holds more than 31,000 spectators and is known for the passionate support of Salento fans, for whom the yellow-and-red colours remain one of the region's strongest symbols of identity.