Association boss also quits
World champion resigns after Italy’s World Cup exit
Updated April 2, 2026 – 5:35 p.mReading time: 3 minutes
Italy’s third qualifying debacle in a row is not without consequences. Association boss Gravina and sports director Buffon resign. Is national coach Gattuso next?
The pressure after another failure to qualify for the World Cup has become too great: On Thursday, Gabriele Gravina, President of the Italian Football Association, resigned from his position with immediate effect.
It wasn’t the only personnel consequence: world champion goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, previously sports director of the “Squadra Azzurra”, also made his position available. He announced this in an emotional Instagram post shortly after Gravina’s resignation. “Now that President Gravina has resigned, I feel free to do what I consider responsible,” wrote the 2006 World Cup champion. And further: “Representing the national team is an honor for me and a passion that has accompanied me since childhood. I carry all of this in my heart and am grateful for the privilege and the lessons that this intense experience – despite its painful aftermath – has given me.”
As Buffon announced, he had declared the end of his role internally just one minute after the end of the game. In addition to his role as head of delegation, he had also worked as sports director since September 2024.
Above all, the pressure on Gravina had become too great – including from politics. The government and opposition had jointly called for the 72-year-old to resign. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is even supposed to address the state of “Calcio” in parliament.
Many observers see structural problems in Italian football. Sports Minister Andrea Abodi said: “It is obvious that football needs to be rebuilt.” The process must “begin with the renewal of the association’s leadership.” Several members of parliament supported this demand – Gravina’s withdrawal was the result.
Even Uefa President Aleksander Čeferin intervened and contradicted the one-sided attribution of blame. “The politicians are more to blame than Gravina,” he said. “You have one of the worst football infrastructures in Europe here.”
In addition to the dilapidated stadiums, the high proportion of foreign professionals is also criticized. AC Milan recently only had one Italian in the starting eleven, Inter Milan and SSC Napoli each had two. After 30 match days, the best Italian goalscorer in Serie A has eight goals.
