Italy 2026 World Cup: Gabriele Gravina resigns as head of the Italian Football Federation
Gabriele Gravina has resigned as head of Italy’s football confederation (FIGC) following their failure to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup.
On Tuesday, Bosnia-Herzegovina defeated the four-time world champions 4-1 on penalties in the play-off final.
No previous winner of the tournament has lost three consecutive World Cups, which Italy now holds after Russia missed out in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.
Also on Thursday, former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who had been working closely with the men’s national team, resigned as head of delegation Via Instagram.
Buffon, who was part of Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning team, wrote that, due to Gravina’s decision to leave, he felt, “As an act of responsibility,” he should do the same.
“The main objective was to get Italy back to the World Cup. And we didn’t succeed,” the 48-year-old Buffon said.
It is appropriate to leave the decision to those who, after independence, will choose the person they believe is best suited to play my role.
Gravina, 72, who is UEFA’s first vice-president, announced his resignation after a meeting held at the FIGC’s headquarters in Rome.
He took up the post in October 2018, after his predecessor Carlo Tavecchio stepped down following Italy’s failure to defeat Sweden in the World Cup play-offs the previous year.
