Gravina Resigns After Italy's Third Consecutive World Cup Miss

Gabriele Gravina, the president of Italy's football federation (FIGC), has resigned in the wake of a crushing World Cup 2026 qualification failure. The 72-year-old official made the announcement after a tense meeting at the FIGC's Rome headquarters on Thursday, just a day following Sport Minister Andrea Abodi's public demand for his resignation. This marks the third consecutive World Cup miss for Italy, a nation once synonymous with footballing excellence, and the fallout has sent shockwaves through Italian sports circles.

Italy's men's team fell at the final hurdle in the qualification playoffs on Tuesday, losing a dramatic penalty shootout to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The defeat ensured the Azzurri will miss the first-ever 48-team World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Gravina's resignation came earlier than planned, as the crisis forced him to abandon his initial strategy of waiting until a FIGC board meeting next week to decide his future. The federation has set June 22 for a vote on a new president, with Giovanni Malago—a former head of the Italian Olympic Committee—among the rumored candidates.

The collapse of Italian football's recent fortunes has left the country reeling. Gravina's tenure, which began in 2018, was defined by a historic Euro 2020 triumph, where Roberto Mancini's team went unbeaten for 37 matches before defeating England in a nail-biting final. Yet that success has been overshadowed by two consecutive World Cup qualification failures and a weak defense of the European title. The national team's struggles are compounded by the fact that no Serie A club has won the Champions League since 2010, a drought that underscores deepening systemic issues.

The crisis extends beyond the pitch. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin recently warned Italy could lose hosting rights for Euro 2032 if stadium infrastructure fails to meet standards. Meanwhile, Gravina's controversial remarks comparing other sports—such as those with large numbers of athletes employed by the military or police—to "amateur" and "state sports" have drawn sharp criticism. His comments clashed with the success of Italy's athletes in other disciplines, including a record 30 medals at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and a strong showing at the 2024 Paris Games.

As the FIGC prepares for leadership changes, the path ahead remains uncertain. Head coach Gennaro Gattuso and general manager Gianluigi Buffon are expected to resign, while the federation faces mounting pressure to overhaul its structure. Abodi's blunt statement that Italian football "needs to be rebuilt from the ground up" has become a rallying cry for reform. But with the World Cup on the horizon and Euro 2032 looming, the clock is ticking for Italy to restore its footballing legacy—or risk further humiliation on the global stage.