Italy's Football Crisis: How Reforms Over Names Will Reshape the Azzurri

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) faces a critical juncture as it races toward presidential elections on June 22, with stakeholders demanding that structural reform—not celebrity appointments—drives the reconstruction of a national football system that has now missed three consecutive World Cups.

Why This Matters:

• Election deadline approaches: Candidates must register by May 13, leaving just 36 days to build consensus around a credible reform platform.

• Economic fallout: The 2026 World Cup absence alone costs Italy an estimated €570M in lost FIFA prizes, sponsorships, and tourism revenue.

• Youth development crisis: With 70% of Serie A players now foreign, Italian talent has shrunk to just 9% of total minutes played—the lowest figure among Europe's top five leagues.

• Leadership vacuum: The exits of President Gabriele Gravina, head coach Gennaro Gattuso, and team manager Gianluigi Buffon have left the federation rudderless.

Content Before Names: The Reform-First Strategy

Giancarlo Abete, president of the Lega Nazionale Dilettanti (LND) and a former FIGC chief, has emerged as the voice of a growing consensus: Italy's football crisis requires a comprehensive strategic blueprint before any leadership appointments are made. Speaking at the launch of the "Vinciamo Insieme" project at the Piedmont regional headquarters, Abete framed the challenge bluntly.

"We must start with substance, not personalities," he said. "What's needed is a project capable of restoring a level of competitiveness that has disappeared." He emphasized that the problem extends far beyond the national team's failure, pointing to Italy's underwhelming performance in the Champions League, where only Atalanta reached the Round of 16 this season.

The approach signals a deliberate shift away from quick-fix marquee hires. Italy's football establishment has begun private consultations aimed at drafting a credible reform package that addresses economic sustainability, youth development, and systemic competitiveness—areas where the country has fallen behind Germany, Spain, and even smaller nations like Croatia and Switzerland.

The Foreign Player Problem and Serie C's Open Door

One of the most contentious debates centers on the saturation of foreign players in Italian professional football. Clubs in Serie C—the third tier—can legally field starting elevens composed entirely of non-Italian nationals, a regulatory quirk that has drawn sharp criticism.

"A Serie C team can play with 11 foreigners, and we cannot impose obligations in professional football," Abete acknowledged, highlighting the legal constraints that prevent federations from mandating quotas. The Italian constitution and EU labor laws make restrictive measures difficult to enforce without broader legislative support.

The data underscores the scale of the issue. As of the current season, 69.1% of all Serie A appearances have been made by foreign players, a figure that has climbed steadily since 2023. The percentage of Italian players nurtured in domestic youth academies who feature regularly in Serie A stands at a meager 9%, the worst ratio among the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1.

Critics argue this creates a vicious cycle: clubs prioritize importing established talent over investing in Italian prospects, which shrinks the pool of players available to the national team and discourages young Italians from pursuing professional careers in the sport. The "generazione senza Mondiale"—a generation without the World Cup—could further erode interest in football among Italian youth, who are already gravitating toward tennis, athletics, and volleyball, disciplines where Italy has enjoyed recent international success.

What This Means for Residents: A System in Standby

For ordinary Italians, the immediate impact is a prolonged period of uncertainty. The FIGC's reform agenda—including proposals to reduce Serie A to 16 teams, streamline Serie C from 60 to 40 clubs, and professionalize the arbitration system—has been placed on hold pending the election outcome.

The federation's "Progetto tecnico del calcio giovanile italiano," launched under Maurizio Viscidi to standardize youth training methods for players aged 5 to 12, remains in limbo. The initiative aimed to shift focus from physical conditioning and rigid tactics toward individual technical skill and creativity, areas where Italian players have historically excelled but recently lagged.

There is also no clarity on whether the next president will continue subsidizing second teams for Serie A clubs—a mechanism designed to give young Italian players competitive experience in lower divisions without needing loan moves abroad.

Economically, the federation faces a delicate balancing act. Reducing the number of clubs in professional leagues could lighten fixture congestion and improve Italy's showing in European competitions, but it would also slash television rights revenue, which is the lifeblood of many mid-tier and lower-division clubs already struggling with debt and insolvency.

The Conte Question and De Laurentiis's Demand

Antonio Conte, currently managing Napoli on a contract worth €8M annually through June 2027, has signaled openness to returning to the national team bench, a role he held from 2014 to 2016. His public comments after Napoli's recent victory over Milan reignited speculation that he could be the man to restore credibility to the Azzurri.

Abete was diplomatic when asked about Conte. "He did well during his previous stint, and we were competitive at the Euros. He's a top-tier coach, but I'm not the one who should be saying that." The decision will ultimately fall to whoever wins the June election, with the new coach expected to be appointed in late June or early July.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis, speaking from the United States, made his position clear: he would release Conte for the national team job, but only after a complete overhaul of the FIGC. "We need to reset everything and give the majority to Serie A," De Laurentiis said, describing Italian football as "a henhouse with too many roosters crowing."

De Laurentiis has thrown his weight behind Giovanni Malagò, the current president of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), as the ideal candidate for FIGC president. Malagò's candidacy, however, raises questions of compatibility with his Olympic role, and he has not yet publicly committed to running.

The Contenders and the Alphabetical Joke

Abete himself is widely considered a leading contender, though he deflected questions about his candidacy with humor. "My name? It must have been mentioned in alphabetical order," he quipped. He insisted that the priority is a strategic rethink of Italian football, not a personality contest.

Other names circulating include Matteo Marani, president of Lega Pro, and Demetrio Albertini, former FIGC vice-president and a favorite among players' associations. Gianni Rivera has publicly declared his readiness to run, claiming he already has a program to "relaunch the movement." Legends like Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Del Piero have been floated as possibilities, though neither has formalized a bid.

Abete also dismissed speculation about a government-imposed commissioner. "Technically, a commissioner is not foreseen in this circumstance and is not possible," he explained. "It only applies in cases of improper administrative management, not sporting matters."

Reform Models and the Ghost of the Baggio Dossier

As candidates begin to coalesce around policy positions, several reform blueprints have been dusted off. The "Dossier Baggio," a 900-page plan drafted in 2011 by Roberto Baggio and technical experts, proposed a complete overhaul centered on individual technique and youth meritocracy. The plan was shelved at the time, but it has resurfaced in recent weeks as a reminder of missed opportunities.

Germany's Talentförderprogramm, launched after their own World Cup failure in the early 2000s, is frequently cited as a model. That program unified training methods, invested heavily in infrastructure, and liberalized citizenship rules for children of immigrants—an approach that helped produce the squad that won the 2014 World Cup.

Minister of Sport Andrea Abodi has publicly called for a "refoundation" of Italian football and urged "renewal at the top of the FIGC," underscoring the political pressure on the federation to act decisively. The challenge, however, is achieving consensus among the sport's fractious components—professional leagues, amateur associations, players' unions, and referees—all of whom hold voting power in the FIGC assembly.

The 36-Day Window

With the candidacy deadline of May 13 looming, the clock is ticking. The Easter break and a key Serie A matchday provided a brief buffer after the World Cup elimination shock, but stakeholders are now pressing for accelerated negotiations. The goal is to identify a figure who can command broad support and implement reforms with teeth—a combination that has eluded Italian football for over a decade.

The post-World Cup crisis has generated rare unanimity on one point: cosmetic changes will not suffice. Whether the new leadership can translate that consensus into action remains the question that will define Italian football for the next generation.