ROME (AP) 鈥� Italy’s soccer federation president resigned amid political pressure on Thursday, two days after the national team for a third consecutive .
Gabriele Gravina’s decision was quickly followed by Gianluigi Buffon stepping down as the national team鈥檚 delegation chief and will likely lead to the ouster of , too.
called for a change in the country鈥檚 soccer leadership after Gravina oversaw two sets of disappointing World Cup qualifiers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 evident to everyone that Italian soccer needs to be overhauled,鈥� Abodi said on Wednesday, 鈥渁nd that process needs to start with new leadership at the FIGC (federation).鈥�
Italy鈥檚 chances of reaching this year鈥檚 tournament in North America ended on Tuesday after a penalty shootout loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a qualifying playoff.
Buffon was the goalkeeper on the World Cup-winning 2006 team and is Italy鈥檚 record-holder with 176 appearances as a player. He was behind Gattuso鈥檚 hiring.
鈥淚t鈥檚 only fair to leave to those who come after me the freedom of selecting who will replace me,鈥� Buffon said. 鈥淩epresenting the national team is an honor and a passion that has embodied me since I was a kid.鈥�
Gravina took charge of the federation in 2018 replacing Carlo Tavecchio, who also stepped down after Italy failed to reach that year鈥檚 World Cup.
The defeat to Bosnia added more misery for four-time champion Italy after being eliminated by and , respectively, in the qualifying playoffs for the last two World Cups.
Italy鈥檚 World Cup struggles go back all the way to 2010 and 2014 when it failed to advance from its group on both occasions.
The Azzurri鈥檚 last World Cup knockout match was in 2006 when they won the title by beating France in the final after a penalty shootout.
Gravina did oversee Italy鈥檚 European Championship trophy in 2021.
鈥淪occer has been in trouble since 2006,鈥� Italian coaches association president Renzo Ulivieri said.
Players鈥� association president Umberto Calcagno said new regulations promoting the use of more Italian players in Serie A were necessary: 鈥淎 rapid change needs to be made.”
An election was called for June 22 to elect a new FIGC president.
Gravina also announced that he would attend a hearing in Italy鈥檚 parliament next Wednesday to discuss 鈥渢he wellbeing of Italian soccer.鈥�
Mancini, Inzaghi, Conte, Allegri
Gattuso took over from the fired Luciano Spalletti in June with the squad already in crisis mode following a defeat at Norway in its opening qualifier.
The Azzurri then went on a six-match winning streak before losing again to Norway in November to finish second in their group and end up in the playoffs again.
Among those being mentioned to replace Gattuso are Roberto Mancini, Simone Inzaghi, Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri.
Mancini coached Italy to the European Championship title in 2021 then failed to get the Azzurri to the next year鈥檚 World Cup before bolting to take over Saudi Arabia鈥檚 national team.
Inzaghi coached Inter Milan to the Serie A title in 2024 and now manages Saudi club Al-Hilal.
Conte coached Italy at the 2016 European Championship and is currently at Napoli.
Allegri is at AC Milan.
Gravina is a UEFA vice president
Gravina is also Aleksander Ceferin鈥檚 top vice president at UEFA.
UEFA statutes require that executive committee members are also senior FA officials but Gravina could stay in the UEFA role as a lame duck as long as the FIGC鈥檚 new leadership doesn鈥檛 demand his removal.
Gravina was re-elected last year by UEFA so he has three more years in his current term.
鈥淕abriele is my first vice president and is very important to me,鈥� Ceferin said in Thursday鈥檚 Gazzetta dello Sport after attending the playoff in Bosnia.
Euro 2032
Besides revitalizing the national team, whoever replaces Gravina will be tasked with getting Italy鈥檚 dilapidated stadiums ready to host the 2032 European Championship.
Italy is slated to co-host Euro 2032 with Turkey.
鈥淚 hope that the infrastructure is ready,鈥� Ceferin said. 鈥淥therwise the tournament won鈥檛 be played in Italy.鈥�
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