Giovanni Malagò, the veteran sports administrator who led Italy's Olympic Committee (CONI) for 12 years and chaired the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics organizing committee, has been elected president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) with a landslide mandate.
Malagò secured 68.58% of the vote in Monday's assembly at the Cavalieri-Waldorf Astoria in Rome, defeating former FIGC president Giancarlo Abete, who received 29.17%. The result hands the federation's highest office to a 67-year-old Roman with no prior soccer administration experience but a formidable track record in Italian sports governance.
His election ends the turbulent tenure of Gabriele Gravina, who resigned after Italy's national team — the Azzurri — failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup, losing a playoff to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The crisis plunged Italian football into its deepest institutional crisis since 2018.
Speaking after the proclamation, Malagò struck a conciliatory but determined tone. "I have always had one single purpose: to make Italy great," he told the assembly. "I want you to feel proud to move together toward this new era of Italian football."
His first major task will be naming a new head coach for the national team. Gennaro Gattuso left the role after the Bosnia defeat, and the frontrunners are widely considered to be two former Italy managers: Roberto Mancini, who led the Azzurri to the European Championship title in 2021, and Antonio Conte, who coached Italy at Euro 2016 and recently left Napoli. "I haven't spoken to anyone yet," Malagò said when asked about candidates. "We'll put our heads together, but first I need to see the budgets."
The election marked a clear realignment of power within FIGC. Inter president Giuseppe Marotta, confirmed as a federal councillor, led the unified support of Serie A clubs behind Malagò. Serie B, the players' association, and the coaches' union fell in line, leaving the amateur leagues as the principal opposition.
Beyond the coaching search, Malagò outlined three immediate priorities: unifying the federation's governing council, building a technical project around a new sporting director for the Club Italia structure, and repairing relations with the government. He revealed he had already spoken by phone with Sports Minister Andrea Abodi and scheduled a face-to-face meeting for later this week.
Malagò's resume speaks to his ability to lead through crisis. As CONI president from 2013 to 2025, he presided over a golden era for Italian Olympic sport with record medal hauls at Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024. He remains an IOC member and only stepped down from CONI to focus on the Winter Games.
The new FIGC president inherits a federation grappling with declining youth participation, aging infrastructure, and the competitive gap between Serie A and Europe's elite leagues. But he also brings a reputation for modernisation, political savvy, and the institutional relationships needed to push reform through a notoriously fragmented governance system.
"Alone I can do nothing, but together with you we can do everything," Malagò told the electorate. The question now is whether Italian football's competing factions will give him the unity he has asked for.
Sources
- https://apnews.com/article/figc-giovanni-malago-5b91eb787d0f8deb16f5c05426fe8f9f
- https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/sport/2026/06/22/giovanni-malago-e-il-nuovo-presidente-della-figc_8e7311e0-8381-4991-a0d3-500a48020d4f.html
