FIGC: Giovanni Malagò Succeeds Gabriele Gravina—An Immediate Major Test for the New President
The FIGC is opening a new chapter in its history by electing Giovanni Malagò as its new president. The former head of CONI won on the first ballot with 68.58% of the vote (343,084 votes), defeating his challenger Giancarlo Abete, who received 29.17% (145,936 votes), while blank ballots accounted for 2.25%. Malagò already has many items on his agenda, the first of which concerns the selection of the new head coach for the national team ahead of the Nations League and the European Championship qualifiers.
The election took place at the Rome Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria, where the 266 delegates present marked the end of the Gabriele Gravina era; Gravina had led the Federation for the past eight years and resigned following the Azzurri’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. “On my own, I can do nothing; with you, I can do everything,” Malagò declared immediately after the announcement.
In his speech before the vote, Malagò recounted his history in the world of sports, rejecting the label of “foreign pope”: “I feel like one of you. Aside from coaching, I’ve played at every level. I am a son of the FIGC. In my career as an executive, I can point to the growth of Aniene, which has become the largest amateur sports association in Europe; the record number of medals at the most recent Summer and Winter Olympics; and the organizational model of Milan-Cortina, now an international benchmark.”
“I hope all of this can be replicated with the Italian Football Federation,” he added, outlining the priorities of his program: developing youth academies, reforming infrastructure, and creating a Federation that serves as a “source of inspiration” rather than merely an administrative body. “Our roots should not be a source of nostalgia, but rather a catalyst for a new era of courage and success. And to do so, we must set aside personal agendas.”
Outgoing President Gravina also spoke on the sidelines of the vote: “I felt it was my duty to prevent the Federation from being dragged into a vortex that would have divided it. I want to remind everyone that during my term, the national team won the European Championship in the summer of 2021, claimed the European title at the Under-19 and Under-17 levels, and regained its central role in Europe, so much so that it received the Burlaz Trophy from UEFA for the successes of our youth teams.”
“However, we misjudged the timing of our decisions, rushing forward-looking ones and delaying structural ones,” Gravina admitted. “But the problems facing Italian soccer cannot be solved by changing the president. I can only urge all of you to take care of soccer, which is a fundamental part of our lives.”
