Gabriele Gravina has stepped down as President of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) following Italy’s failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the third consecutive time, according to German news agency dpa.
In a statement released on Thursday, the FIGC confirmed that Gravina announced his resignation during a high-level meeting and called for a new presidential election to be held on June 22. He had held the post since 2018.
Italy suffered a 1-4 penalty shootout defeat against Bosnia-Herzegovina in a playoff match on Tuesday, sealing their absence from the upcoming World Cup, which will take place from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The four-time world champions last appeared at the global tournament in 2014, where they were eliminated in the group stage. Since then, Italy has failed to qualify for both the 2018 and 2022 editions.
Meanwhile, uncertainty remains over the future of head coach Gennaro Gattuso, with his position still under review. The 2006 World Cup winner had previously received Gravina’s backing to continue after the defeat in Zenica.
Gravina had faced increasing pressure to resign from media outlets and Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi, who has called for a major restructuring of the country’s football system, starting with the FIGC leadership.
The federation also stated that Gravina is prepared to appear before a parliamentary committee next week to provide an update on the current state of Italian football.
