First challenger to Malagò: Abete runs for FIGC Presidency, calls for ‘different method’

First challenger to Malagò: Abete runs for FIGC Presidency, calls for ‘different method’

Giancarlo Abete confirms he’ll run for the FIGC Presidency after Lega Serie A backed Giovanni Malagò but notes: ‘A different method would have been better.’

It’s been an eventful day in Italian football, with the first two potential candidates for the FIGC Presidential election emerging today.

The majority of Serie A clubs chose Malagò, a former CONI President, as their candidate during a general Lega Serie A meeting in Milan on Monday.

Malagò was picked by Serie A clubs before even presenting his project, which is why Lazio and Hellas Verona have abstained from backing him.

Abete, a former FIGC President from 2007 to 2014 and the current President of Lega Nazionale Dilettanti (LND), later confirmed that he’d also run for the FIGC Presidency.

Abete ‘available’ to return as FIGC President

“I will ask the Board of Directors of the National Amateur League (LND) to grant me the same authority that was granted to President Malagò by the Serie A clubs,” he said during the Premio Bearzot in Rome.

“If this is the approach, we’ll follow it. I have already convened the governing bodies of the LND, and I will ask for approval to put forward my availability so that when we come to the table, there are situations in which a plurality of positions is expressed.

“I will go further, and the invitation is for the same to be done by the technical components and other leagues, because we need contributions from all components.”

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, ITALY – MARCH 15: Giovanni Malago, President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 delivers a speech during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games closing ceremony at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium on March 15, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)

Votes from the LND account for 34% of the total in the FIGC Presidential election, against Serie A’s 18%, but any candidate needs the 50% plus one vote to get elected.

While announcing his candidacy, Abete stated that the selection method used by Lega Serie A, which led to Malagò’s nomination, was flawed.

ROME, ITALY – DECEMBER 01: Giancarlo Abete President of LND poses during the FIGC DCPS press conference at Europa Experience on December 01, 2023 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

“A different method would have been better. Obviously, a prestigious candidate has been identified, such as Malagò,” he said.

“But we must first talk about the issues and then about the people. Because one person alone is not enough to solve the problems of Italian football, whoever that may be. Therefore, we will address the issues and send an initial signal: this candidacy will not remain isolated.”