2026 World Cup: Italian Football Federation President Resigns after Nazionales Elimination in Qualifying Playoffs

In office since 2018, Gabriele Gravina presented his resignation on Thursday, along with Gianluigi Buffon, head of the delegation. Defeated by Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday, Italy failed for the third consecutive time to qualify for the World Cup.

The elimination was too much. The president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), Gabriele Gravina, presented his resignation on Thursday, April 2 after Italy’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup (from June 11 to July 19), the organization announced. Gabriele Gravina, 72 years old, had been in charge of the FIGC since October 2018 and was re-elected in February 2025. In a statement, the FIGC specified that the resigning president had “convened an extraordinary assembly on June 22 in Rome.” Gianluigi Buffon, head of the Italian delegation, also resigns.

Italy, four-time world champion and two-time European champion, will not participate in the next World Cup after its defeat in the final of the European playoffs against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday (1-1, 4-1 on penalties). It will be absent from the global competition for the third time in a row, following 2018 and 2022. The local press labeled it as the “third apocalypse” of Italian football.

Gabriele Gravina took over the powerful FIGC (1.5 million members) following the resignation of Carlo Tavecchio after Italy’s failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Under his leadership, the Nazionale won the Euro 2021 before being eliminated in the round of 16 in Euro 2024.

The day after the defeat against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi called for Gabriele Gravina’s resignation, who is also the first vice-president of UEFA and close to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin. “Italian football needs to be restructured, and this process must involve a renewal within the management of the FIGC,” the minister said.

Gianluigi Buffon, who wanted to resign after the match but was asked by Gabriele Gravina to wait, also resigned on Thursday. “Now that President Gravina has chosen to step back, I feel free to do what I consider an act of responsibility, because despite my sincere belief in having built a strong spirit and group with Rino [Gennaro] Gattuso and all the colleagues, the main goal was to bring Italy back to the World Cup,” he wrote on X.