Italy’s sports minister calls for football federation chief to step down after the national team’s third consecutive World Cup qualification failure.
ITALY’s Sport Minister Andrea Abodi has called for the head of the country’s football federation to step down following the national team’s failure to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup.
The Azzurri’s latest heartbreak came after a penalty shoot-out defeat to Bosnia and Hercegovina in the play-offs on Tuesday, confirming their absence from this summer’s finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
FIGC president Gabriele Gravina has stated he will not resign, though a board meeting next week will determine his future.
“It’s clear that Italian football needs to be rebuilt from the ground up and that starts with changes at the top of the FIGC,” Abodi said in a statement.
The minister’s demand follows public hostilities between the government and Gravina, who after the defeat criticised what he perceived as a lack of state support for football.
Gravina also referred to other sports as “amateur” and “state sports” compared to football, a comment seen as a slight against Italy’s many Olympians who are often employed by the armed forces and police.
“I believe it is a mistake to deny responsibility for the third missed World Cup qualification and accuse the institutions of a presumed failure while downplaying the importance and professionalism of other sports,” added Abodi.
Italy’s recent sporting success includes a record 30 medals at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics and 40 medals at the Paris 2024 Summer Games, alongside global stars like tennis Grand Slam winner Jannik Sinner.
Speed skater and double Olympic gold medallist Francesca Lollobrigida was among athletes to react sarcastically to Gravina’s comments, posting on Instagram “I’m an amateur”.
