Italy Football Chief Gravina, Buffon Resign After Third Straight World Cup Miss

For the second time in eight years, the Italian Football Federation is searching for a new president in the wake of World Cup failure. Gabriele Gravina resigned Thursday as FIGC chief, followed within hours by Gianluigi Buffon stepping down as the national team's delegation chief, two days after Italy's 4-1 penalty loss to 66th-ranked Bosnia and Herzegovina ended their 2026 World Cup bid.

The defeat at Stadion Bilino Polje in Zenica on March 31 carried a weight no other footballing nation has ever borne: Italy became the first World Cup winner in history to miss three consecutive tournaments. Sweden ended Italy's bid for Russia 2018, North Macedonia did the same for Qatar 2022, and Bosnia completed the trilogy. Italy last played at the finals in Brazil 2014, winning just one match since lifting the trophy in 2006.

Gravina, 72 and UEFA's first vice-president, had held the FIGC presidency since October 2018, replacing Carlo Tavecchio after that first Sweden exit. He won re-election in February 2025 with 98.8% of the vote. The resignation came after an emergency meeting with leaders of Serie A, Serie B, Serie C, the National Amateur League, the Footballers' Association, and the Coaches' Association. He called it "a personal, convinced and carefully meditated" decision.

Sports Minister Andrea Abodi had left little ambiguity the day prior: "It's evident to everyone that Italian soccer needs to be overhauled, and that process needs to start with new leadership at the FIGC." Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was equally direct: "Unfortunately the third consecutive elimination from the World Cup is not an April Fool's joke. It's a sign that Italian soccer has failed."

Gravina compounded public anger by dismissing other sports as "amateur" compared to football after the Bosnia defeat, a tone-deaf remark given Italy had just claimed a record 30 medals, including 10 golds, at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. His tenure's high point, Roberto Mancini's unbeaten 37-match run culminating in Euro 2020 glory over England at Wembley, now feels distant.

Buffon, Italy's record cap holder with 176 appearances and a 2006 World Cup winner, said: "It's only fair to leave to those who come after me the freedom of selecting who will replace me." He had backed Gennaro Gattuso's hiring in June 2025, a coach Gravina defended even in leaving: "I have to praise Gattuso. I think he's been a great coach." Despite that endorsement, Gattuso is widely expected to follow both men out the door. Sports journalist Tancredi Palmeri told CNN: "Obviously, Gattuso is not the problem, but he is not even the solution. He was a temporary coach who came on last June."

The structural rot extends well beyond personnel. No Italian club has won the Champions League since Inter Milan in 2010; Inter were beaten 5-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the 2025 final. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, present in Zenica, noted that "perhaps it is Italian politicians who should be asking themselves why Italy has some of the worst football infrastructure in Europe."

FIGC elections are set for June 22 in Rome. Giovanni Malagò, former CONI president who oversaw Italy's record medal haul at Milan-Cortina, leads the field with backing from Serie A, Abodi, and Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis, who said: "If Malagò took Italian football in hand, it would bounce back very quickly." Former FIGC president Giancarlo Abete, Lega Pro president Matteo Marani, and former midfielder Demetrio Albertini, the players' reported preference, are also in contention.

The world's second-most decorated World Cup nation will watch this summer's tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico from home for the third consecutive time.