In the statement, the resigning president of the FIGC says that “his words were not intended to be offensive towards any sporting discipline, but rather were a reference to the different internal and external laws and regulations”
The Gravina era at the helm of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) ended in the early afternoon. A day and a half after the defeat in Zenica against Bosnia which marked the third elimination in a row from the final stages of the World Cup. Here is the text of the statement: “The meeting between the president Gabriele Gravina and the presidents of the federal components took place today at the FIGC headquarters in Rome. At the beginning of the work, Gravina informed the highest representatives of the Lega Calcio Serie A Ezio Maria Simonelli, of the Lega B Paolo Bedin, of the Lega Pro Matteo Marani, of the Lega Nazionale Dilettanti Giancarlo Abete, of the Italian Footballers’ Association Umberto Calcagno and of the Italian Football Coaches Association Renzo Ulivieri, that he had resigned the resignation from the position entrusted to him in February 2025 and to have called the Extraordinary Elective Assembly of the FIGC for next June 22nd in Rome. The date was identified in full compliance with the Federal Statute and to guarantee the new governance the completion of the registration procedure for the next professional championships. During the meeting, Gravina also thanked the members for having renewed, in a public and private way, their closeness and support for him. informed the presidents that he has willingly made himself available to speak at the hearing on 8 April (11 am) in the VII Culture, Science and Education Commission of the Chamber of Deputies to report on the state of health of Italian football. It will be at that meeting that President Gravina will present in the most complete and exhaustive way possible a report on the strengths and weaknesses of the movement, also touching on some of the topics already addressed in the press conference held after the national team match played in Zenica last Tuesday 31 March In this regard, Gravina said he regretted the interpretation of his words on the difference between amateur and professional sports, which were absolutely not intended to be offensive towards any sporting discipline, but were a reference to the different internal laws and regulations (for example, the presence in the governance of some League Federations with their related autonomies) and external ones (with express reference to the corporate nature of professional football clubs which must submit to national and international legislation different from amateur clubs)”.
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The last lines referred to the response given immediately after the penalty defeat against Bosnia on “Why does Italy win in all other sports but not in football?”. The now former number 1 in Italian football responded: “Football is a professional sport, the others are amateur, we make relationships on the basis of fairness. The others are state sports, like the winter ones: apart from Arianna Fontana, they are all state employees.”
