Giovanni Malagò elected FIGC president with 68.58% of votes

Giovanni Malagò, the former head of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics organizing committee, has been elected president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in Monday's elective assembly, receiving 68.58% of the vote to defeat former federation president Giancarlo Abete, who garnered 29.17%.

Malagò succeeds Gabriele Gravina, who resigned after Italy's failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — the third consecutive time the Azzurri will miss the tournament. The national team's absence from back-to-back World Cups, following misses in 2018 and 2022, plunged the federation into crisis and triggered early elections.

The new president's most immediate and consequential decision will be the appointment of a new Italy head coach. Gennaro Gattuso stepped down after Italy lost a World Cup qualifying playoff to Bosnia and Herzegovina, leaving the bench vacant at a critical juncture for the four-time world champions.

Two familiar names lead the list of candidates: Roberto Mancini and Antonio Conte, both former Italy coaches. Mancini led the Azzurri to the European Championship title in 2021 before the team failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup; he later took charge of Saudi Arabia's national team and, most recently, Al-Sadd in Qatar. Conte, who coached Italy at Euro 2016, recently left his role at Napoli after guiding the club to Champions League qualification.

Malagò brings extensive experience in Italian sports administration. Before directing this year's Winter Olympics, he served as president of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) and continues as a member of the International Olympic Committee. His dual mandate will be to restore stability to the federation and rebuild a national team program capable of returning Italy to elite international competition.

Sources

• AP News