Gabriele Gravina, head of the Italian Football Federation, resigned on Thursday after the national team failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row.
Gravina, in charge of the FIGC since 2018, was urged to resign by Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi after Italy’s penalty shootout defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday.
The next day, Gravina said he would not resign, but that a board meeting next week would decide whether he would retain his position.
“It is clear that Italian football needs to be rebuilt from the ground up and that starts with changes at the top of the FIGC,” Abodi said in a statement.
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Abodi’s comments come amid hostilities between the Italian government and Gravina, who, speaking to the media after Italy’s defeat, lashed out at a perceived lack of support for the state’s football.
Italy’s World Cup problems go all the way back to 2010 and 2014, when they failed to get out of the group on both occasions.
The Azzurri’s last World Cup knockout match was in 2006, when they won the title by beating France in the final on penalties.
Gravina oversaw Italy’s 2021 European Championship trophy.
Elections were set for June 22 to elect a new FIGC president.
Gattuso took over from the sacked Luciano Spalletti in June, with the team already in crisis mode after losing to Norway in the opening qualifier.
The Azzurri then went on a six-match winning streak before losing again to Norway in November to finish second in their group and find themselves in the play-offs again.
Among those set to replace Gattuso are Roberto Mancini, Simone Inzaghi, Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri.
Mancini coached Italy to the European Championship title in 2021 and then failed to get the Azzurri to next year’s World Cup before heading out to take over the Saudi Arabia national team.
Inzaghi coached Inter Milan to the Serie A title in 2024 and is now manager of Saudi club Al-Hilal.
Conte coached Italy at the 2016 European Championship and currently plays for Napoli.
Allegri is at AC Milan.
Gravina is also Aleksander Ceferin’s top vice president at UEFA.
UEFA’s statutes require members of the executive committee to also be senior FA officials, but Gravina could remain in UEFA’s role as a lame duck as long as the new FIGC leadership does not demand his resignation.
Gravina was re-elected by UEFA last year, so he has three years left in his current term.
“Gabriele is my first vice president and is very important to me,” Ceferin said in the newspaper on Thursday Gazetta dello Sport after attending the play-off in Bosnia.
In addition to reviving the national team, whoever replaces Gravina will be tasked with preparing Italy’s dilapidated stadiums to host the 2032 European Championship.
Italy will host the 2032 European Championship together with Turkey.
“I hope the infrastructure is ready,” Ceferin said. “Otherwise the tournament will not be played in Italy.”
Published on April 2, 2026
