Gravina resigns as FIGC head after Italy’s third straight World Cup failure.
Gabriele Gravina on Thursday resigned as president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), two days after Italy failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup – the country’s third consecutive absence from football’s greatest tournament.
After meeting the six constituent bodies of Italian football at the FIGC headquarters in Rome, Gravina formally tendered his resignation, informing the presidents of Serie A, Serie B, Serie C, the National Amateur League, the Italian Footballers’ Association and the Italian Football Coaches’ Association.
Gravina steps down as FIGC president, a role he had held since 2018, following intense criticism and pressure, including from within the government as well as from the public and athletes from sports other than football.
Until this week’s failure to qualify for the World Cup, Gravina enjoyed solid support within the FIGC. He was re-elected president in 2021 and again in 2025, with 98.8 percent of the vote: effectively reconciling all sides of Italian football.
However things changed drastically following Italy’s defeat on penalties to Bosnia-Herzegovina in the World Cup play-off final in Zenica – a result that confirmed Italy’s exclusion from the World Cup for the third consecutive time.
Road to resignation
Sports minister Andrea Abodi had called for a wholesale rebuilding of Italian football starting from the top of the FIGC, and had argued against rushing straight to new elections, favouring instead the appointment of a commissioner.
He said: “If we only think about elections in the event of Gravina’s resignation, we will miss an opportunity.” He called for a figure “who comes from the game” and who had no ties to the outgoing cycle.
Managerial errors
Newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano gave a detailed accounting of what it characterised as a series of costly decisions by Gravina during his tenure.
In 2022, after Italy’s shock elimination by North Macedonia, Gravina controversially retained Roberto Mancini as manager – the only coach who had performed well under his stewardship, though notably one whom Gravina had not personally appointed.
This decision, the paper argued, set off the negative cycle that followed, culminating in Mancini’s abrupt departure for Saudi Arabia.
After Italy’s humiliation at Euro 2024 – knocked out in the round of 16 by Switzerland – Gravina again retained the manager, Luciano Spalletti, before eventually sacking him belatedly, by which point a heavy defeat in Norway had already put qualification in serious jeopardy.
Gravina’s salary was also scrutinised: the paper noted that, as revealed by previous reporting and confirmed by legal proceedings, his remuneration approached €250,000 per year.
What happens next
A question mark now hangs over coach Gennaro Gattuso and head of delegation Gianluigi Buffon, both of whom Gravina had asked to stay on following Italy’s defeat by Bosnia.
For the managerial vacancy, Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri are regarded as the leading candidates.
Italy’s next competitive fixtures are Nations League ties in September – at home to Belgium on 25 September and away to Türkiye on 28 September.
New elections for the federation presidency are scheduled for 22 June. Potential successors to Gravina include former FIGC president Giancarlo Abete, who held the role from 2007 to 2014, and former Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) president Giovanni Malagò.
This is a developing story….
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