Italy football chief resigns after World Cup qualification failure

MILAN: The president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), Gabriele Gravina, resigned on Thursday after Italy’s men’s national team failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third straight time.

Gravina, 72, announced his decision after a meeting at the federation’s headquarters in Rome. His resignation came a day after Sports Minister Andrea Abodi publicly urged him to step down.

Italy, four-time World Cup champions, were eliminated in the play-offs on Tuesday after losing a penalty shoot-out to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The result means they will not take part in this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The latest setback prompted Gravina to abandon his earlier plan of waiting until a FIGC board meeting next week before deciding his future. The federation later said in a statement that an election for a new president would be held on June 22.

Giovanni Malago, the former long-serving head of the Italian Olympic Committee and former president of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics organising committee, is among the names being discussed as a possible successor.

Further changes are also expected in the national setup. Head coach Gennaro Gattuso is expected to leave his post, while general manager Gianluigi Buffon, the former Italy goalkeeper, announced his resignation on Thursday.

Pressure after latest setback

Italy’s failure to reach the first 48-team World Cup, which will include teams such as Cape Verde and Curacao, intensified criticism of the federation’s leadership. Abodi said in a statement:

It’s clear that Italian football needs to be rebuilt from the ground up and that starts with changes at the top of the FIGC.

His remarks followed comments from Gravina a day earlier in which he criticised politicians

who have only pushed for resignations

while also acknowledging that Italian football

is in a profound crisis

.

Gravina had been elected FIGC president in October 2018, taking over permanently after Carlo Tavecchio resigned following Italy’s play-off defeat to Sweden that kept them out of the previous World Cup.

The high point of Gravina’s tenure came at Euro 2020, when Roberto Mancini’s Italy, unbeaten in 37 matches, defeated England at Wembley to win the European Championship for the second time. But two failed World Cup qualification campaigns and an unsuccessful defence of the European title increased pressure on his leadership.

Broader concerns over Italian football

The difficulties facing Italian football extend beyond the national team. No Serie A club has won the Champions League since 2010.

Italy is also due to co-host Euro 2032 with Turkey, but UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin raised concerns on Thursday about the condition of stadium infrastructure in the country. In an interview with Gazzetta Dello Sport, he said:

I just hope that the infrastructure (in Italy) will be ready. If that’s not the case, the tournament will not be held in Italy.

The report contrasted football’s struggles with Italy’s recent achievements in other sports. Italy won a record 30 medals, including 10 gold, at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, and collected 40 medals at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. The country has also produced leading athletes in other disciplines, including tennis player Jannik Sinner, described in the report as a four-time Grand Slam winner.

Gravina also drew criticism on Tuesday after referring to other sports as

amateur

and

state sports

in comparison with football, in remarks linked to the large number of athletes, especially Olympians, who are formally employed by branches of Italy’s armed forces and police.