Source:
Claude:
Italian football has been plunged into deep crisis following the country's third consecutive failure to qualify for a World Cup. After a penalty shootout defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina, federation president Gabriele Gravina resigned at an emergency FIGC general council meeting, with legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon — serving as national team delegation head — following him out the door shortly after.
Coach Gennaro Gattuso, who replaced Luciano Spalletti just ten months ago in June 2025, also appears set to lose his job, having failed to deliver the immediate priority of World Cup qualification. A new federation president will be elected in June.
The fallout extends well beyond the dugout. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin issued a stark warning that Italy risks losing its co-hosting rights for Euro 2032, which it is scheduled to stage alongside Turkey. Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Ceferin described Italy's football infrastructure as "among the worst in Europe," and stated plainly that if stadiums are not ready, the tournament will not be held in Italy.
The situation is alarming. Of the 11 cities on Italy's shortlist, only Juventus's Allianz Stadium currently meets UEFA requirements. While redevelopments are planned for San Siro, Naples' Maradona stadium, and a new Rome venue, construction on all host stadiums must have begun by March 2027 — leaving very little time.
Ceferin pointed to the dysfunctional relationship between football politics and government as the root of the infrastructure problem. Gravina himself acknowledged the scale of the challenge upon resigning, warning that Italian football needs to be fundamentally "redesigned" from the ground up.
Comments:
Didn't know that Italy is in such a crisis with the infrastructure.
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