The head of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) is predicted to resign immediately after the penalty shootout defeat against Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, it was not until an emergency meeting of Italian football officials that he made the decision.
According to Italian media, after Gravina resigned, Italian national team captain Gigi Buffon, and coach Gennaro Gattuso are also predicted to follow suit, because failing to win a ticket to the World Cup for the third consecutive time will certainly cause an earthquake in the country's football scene.
After many years, I feel both sad and peaceful. I must thank all members of the Federation, who today, once again have shown great support, respect and affection, and emphasized that I should continue. But I made my decision, it was a personal decision and was carefully considered," Gravina shared after resigning. Previously, Gravina had held the position of FIGC President since October 2018.
It is expected that on June 22, an election will take place to elect a new President for the Italian Football Federation. After this milestone, the Italian national team may choose a new coach.
274 delegates will elect the new FIGC President, of which 18% of the votes belong to representatives in the number one national league Serie A, 6% Serie B, 12% Lega Pro, 34% for amateur football (LND), 20% for the Players' Association and 10% for the Coaches' Association.
Regarding the position of Italian national team coach, the country's media emphasized that Roberto Mancini could become the team's leader to replace Gennaro Gattuso if Giovanni Malagò becomes FIGC President.
Mancini is leading the Al-Saad team in Saudi Arabia. He used to coach the Italian national team from 2018 to 2023, helping the team win EURO 2020. But then, he resigned just weeks before the EURO 2024 qualifying campaign began.
