Italian FA head and Buffon quit over World Cup failure

Image caption,

Italy qualified for the 2023 Women's World Cup under Gabriele Gravina's presidency

Gabriele Gravina has resigned as the head of Italy's football association (FIGC) following their failure to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup.

The four-time world champions suffered another play-off final defeat when they were beaten 4-1 on penalties by Bosnia-Herzegovina on Tuesday.

No previous winner of the tournament has missed three World Cups in a row, which Italy now have after missing out on Russia in 2018 and Qatar 2022.

Also on Thursday, former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who was working closely with the men's national team, resigned as delegation head via Instagram., external

Buffon, who was part of Italy's 2006 World Cup-winning side, wrote that with Gravina's decision to go, he felt, "as an act of responsibility", he should do the same.

"The main objective was to bring Italy back to the World Cup. And we didn't succeed," Buffon, 48, added.

"It's fair to leave it to those who will come after the freedom to choose the figure they think is best to play my role."

Gravina, 72, who is the Uefa first vice-president, announced his resignation following a meeting held at the FIGC's headquarters in Rome.

He took the job in October 2018, with his predecessor Carlo Tavecchio having stepped down following Italy's failure to beat Sweden in a World Cup play-off the previous year.

Italy won Euro 2020 during Gravina's tenure, beating England in a penalty shootout at Wembley Stadium. But the country's football federation is under scrutiny following the failure to qualify for this summer's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Gravina oversaw the appointments of former head coach Luciano Spalletti and current boss Gennaro Gattuso. Before resigning, Gravina told reporters he had asked Gattuso to stay despite missing out on the World Cup.

In a statement, the FIGC said a vote to elect a new president will be held on 22 June. Among the leading candidates to take over is Giovanni Malago, the former head of of the Italian Olympic Committee, who was also president of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics organisation committee.

In a further blow, Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin has warned Italy could lose its role as co-host of the European Championship in 2032 unless the country upgrades its football infrastructure.

Italy is set to host the tournament with Turkey but its lack of modern stadiums has drawn criticism, with a number of clubs struggling to upgrade their grounds, often because of disputes with public authorities.

The country's football federation has until October to put forward five stadiums to Uefa, the European governing body, to host Euro 2032 matches.

"Euro 2032 is scheduled and will take place. I hope the infrastructure will be ready," Ceferin told Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Otherwise, the tournament will not be played in Italy."

Ceferin, who had given his backing to Gravina before the news of his resignation was made public, said the former FIGC president was not to blame for the nation's lack of stadium regeneration.

"Perhaps it is Italian politicians who should be asking themselves why Italy has some of the worst football infrastructure in Europe," he said.