Italy football president quits job in dramatic response to World Cup heartbreak

Jack Otway
Thu, 02 Apr 2026 13:35:58 +0000

Gabriele Gravina has stepped down as president of Italy's football federation following mounting political pressure, just 48 hours after the national team's devastating elimination from World Cup qualification.

The resignation marks a dramatic response to the Azzurri's historic failure to reach a third consecutive World Cup finals.

Thursday's departure comes in the wake of Italy's crushing exit from the 2026 tournament, which will be hosted across North America.

Gravina's tenure saw him preside over two separate failed qualification campaigns, prompting calls from within the Italian government for sweeping changes at the top of the country's football administration.

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Tuesday's penalty shootout defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the qualifying playoff brought Italy's hopes of competing in this year's World Cup to a crushing end.

Sports Minister Andrea Abodi responded to the elimination by demanding a shake-up of the nation's football leadership, having witnessed Gravina oversee two consecutive failed qualification attempts.

The federation president's exit is also expected to spell the end for national team manager Gennaro Gattuso, whose position now appears untenable.

The former midfielder's departure would represent a complete overhaul of Italian football's senior leadership following the country's unprecedented run of World Cup absences.

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Gattuso was downbeat after the result against Bosnia. There have been suggestions he could walk away but, in the immediate aftermath, he refused to commit to a decision.

"I'm not interested at all in talking about my future today," he said.

"It hurts, it really hurts. More than hurting me, it hurts to see this group which has really given everything in these months and I think we deserved to get back what we put in and I honestly think it's too reductive and too immature to be talking about my future today.

"Here we should be talking about Italy, about the national team shirt, that it's yet another blow even though this time we didn't deserve it. We deserved more and that's why my future doesn't matter."

Two managers have been linked with the post.

Antonio Conte could be one option, though he's currently in charge of Napoli.

Massimiliano Allegri is another, though he is working with AC Milan.

Italy will now have to contend with another summer at home, with their failure to make the World Cup also coming just six years after they won the European Championships.