After failing to qualify for a third straight World Cup, Italian football faces more setback as its president has quit and UEFA has sent them a warning over 2032 Euro hosting rights.
Italian football faces more chaos after they failed to qualify for a third straight World Cup, as UEFA has sent them a strong warning over 2032 Euro hosting rights and the president has decided to quit. Italy lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties in the World Cup playoffs on Tuesday, missing out on a third straight FIFA event.
In the wake of the recent disaster, Italian football federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina finally resigned on Thursday. Gravina has been in charge of the Italian football federation since 2018, overseeing the team
missing out on the 2022 and 2026 World Cups. He had also been urged by the government to step down.
The federation will hold an extraordinary assembly on 22 June to elect a new chief.
The last World Cup for the Italian team was in 2014 and they have won only one match at the finals since winning the tournament for the fourth time in 2006.
Former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, the national team delegation head, has also announced his resignation via social media.
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Meanwhile, UEFA president Alexander Ceferin has said that Italy may lose out on co-hosting rights for the 2032 European Championship if it does not improve the football infrastructure in the country. Ceferin’s comments have only put the Italian football federation under more scrutiny.
“Euro 2032 is scheduled and will take place. I hope the infrastructure will be ready,” Ceferin told Gazzetta dello Sport. “Otherwise, the tournament will not be played in Italy.”
The 2032 Euro will be co-hosted by Italy and Turkey. And while Italy has some of the most iconic football stadiums, the majority of them are old and haven’t been renovated for a long time.
Ceferin, however, said that Italian politicians and not the federation must answer why the infrastructure has not been renovated. “Perhaps it is Italian politicians who should be asking themselves why Italy has some of the worst football infrastructure in Europe,” he said.
“It is absolutely not Gabriele’s responsibility, and I would never allow myself to attack either the players or the coach.”
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