The Italian football is going through a turbulent period. Following Gabriele Gravina’s resignation from the presidency of the FIGC, Minister of Sports Andrea Abodi announced the effective appointment of Massimo Sessa as the extraordinary commissioner in charge of the infrastructure needed for Euro 2032, which Italy will co-host with Turkey.
Sessa, an engineer from Salerno and president of the Higher Council of Public Works since January 2024, was proposed by Abodi as far back as last September. His appointment has now been registered by the Court of Auditors. A decree signed by the undersecretary to the President of the Council, Alfredo Mantovano, defines the technical structure that will operate under his command. According to Abodi, “the commissioner is already operational” and is working on the files of the five stadiums that must meet UEFA requirements. Approximately 5 billion euros could be unlocked thanks to this new institutional framework.
Regarding Gravina’s successor, lawyer Giorgio Spallone, a specialist in sports law, provided his analysis. For him, the next election at the helm of the FIGC must mark a break: “The new president must necessarily combine managerial skills and knowledge of the football environment.” He argues for an end to the “permanent conflict between the political level, the leagues, and the Federation,” which he considers the main cause of the current stagnation.
Spallone sees this period as a rare opportunity: “The elections for the new federal president could be a historic turning point for Italian football at all levels, from training to infrastructure reconstruction.” However, he conditionally links any hope of seeing the National Team at the 2030 World Cup to a real political and institutional opening.
