By Marcella Mwinkoma Babing
Following Italy’s failure to qualify for the World Cup 2026 for the third consecutive time, Sport Minister Andrea Abodi requested on Wednesday, April 1, 2026 that, the head of the country’s football federation should step down.
“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,” he stated.
In response to that, Gabriele Gravina formally resigned on Thursday, April 2, 2026 as president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) after meeting the six constituent bodies of Italian football at the FIGC headquarters informing the presidents of Serie A, Serie B, Serie C, the National Amateur League, the Italian Footballers’ Association and the Italian Football Coaches’ Association.
He initially held this position in 2018 and was re-elected president in 2021 and again in 2025, with 98.8 percent of the vote.
However things did not turn out rosy this time around due to Italy’s defeat on penalties to Bosnia-Herzegovina in the World Cup play-off final in Zenica.
Other officials such as head of delegation Gianluigi Buffon, whom Gravina retained following Italy’s defeat by Bosnia, also resigned.
Coach Gennaro Gattuso is also expected to resign. It was also revealed by Newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano a detailed accounting of what it characterised as a series of costly decisions by Gravina during his tenure.
New elections for the federation presidency are scheduled for 22 June. Former FIGC president Giancarlo Abete, who held the role from 2007 to 2014, and former Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) president Giovanni Malagò are recommended as potential delegates.
