The decision came just hours after the fall to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which left Azzurra without a World Cup for the third time in a row. The coup rekindled criticism of the management of Italian football and accelerated the
leader's departure.
The federation itself confirmed the resignation in an official statement: "Today a meeting took place between President Gabriele Gravina and the presidents of the member federations at the FIGC headquarters in Rome. At the beginning of the meeting,Gravina informed the top representatives that she had resigned from her position
The boss had taken office in 2018, in the midst of a convulsive phase following Russia's absence from the World Cup.
Despite showing signs of recovery with winning Euro 2020, frustrations continued to come, first with the unusual elimination in the semifinals of the repechage to Qatar 2022 at the hands of North Macedonia and, now, with the blow against theBosnians in the final to enter the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada
.
The impact of the new failure opens up a phase of restructuring in calcium. The elections to define his replacement have a date: they will be held on June 22 in Rome, as pressure grows for profound changes in the structure of Italian football
.
Shortly after Gravina's departure, Gianluigui Buffon also left his position in the FIGC. The former aquero, world champion in Germany 2006, had been serving as head of the Italian delegation since mid-2023. “Resigning one minute after the end of the match against Bosnia was an urgent act, which came from the depths of my being. As spontaneous as the tears and pain I feel, which I know I share with all of you. They asked me to wait until everyone had time to reflect,” he said in his
farewell message.
“Now that President Gravina has decided to step aside, I feel free to do what I consider to be a responsible act. Because, despite my sincere conviction that we have built a lot in terms of team spirit, together with Rino Gattuso and all our collaborators, in the short time available for the national team, the main objective was to bring Italy back to the World Cup. And we failed,” he added
.
At the same time, the cycle of Gennaro Gattuso at the head of the national team was also under scrutiny, which could end after this severe setback, in a context of generalized review within the federation.
Gatusso may not continue as coach of Italy
The coach took office in the middle of last year and managed 8 games, with a record of 6 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw (the match against Bosnia that later ended up being defeated on penalties). Although the FIGC publicly supported him after the elimination, Gravina's resignation could change plans
