Capello praises Gravina’s resignation
Former coach Fabio Capello applauds Gabriele Gravina’s resignation: “He resigned, everyone expected it, so he acted correctly. I would say he behaved as expected.”
Italian football “in difficulty since 2006”
Renzo Ulivieri (representative of coaches) speaks of a “very sad meeting”: “Football is in difficulty today, but it has been the case since 2006. We will see what happens now.”
“Turning disappointment into optimism,” players’ association calls for revolution to revive Italian football
Umberto Calcagno, president of the players’ association, reacts to the announcement of the president of the Federation’s resignation: “We are finally talking about a subject that we have been advocating for a long time, Italians do not play enough. We hope that we can, with policymakers, develop rules that will revive Italian football. Gravina still enjoys the trust and respect of the federation, but we understand that the period is difficult and we will all have to roll up our sleeves. We must turn disappointment into optimism.”
“Football is a flagship sport in Italy but we fail to fully valorize what we do. We are not at war with foreigners. Other countries have different rules than us, like Spain, and yet 60% of players are Spanish.”
“We need to teach football differently from the base, so that our children develop a new passion for our sport. Change must occur at all levels, from the base to the top. The federation is not taking the necessary measures.”
Gravina expresses “regrets” after controversial comment about “amateur” sports
In the statement from the Italian Football Federation, Gabriele Gravina, resigning president of the organization, also addressed his controversial comment.
“Football is a professional sport, the others are amateur, we ensure impartial media coverage,” he said after Italy’s non-qualification for the World Cup, while other sports shine in the country. “The others are state sports, like winter sports: with the exception of Arianna Fontana (speed skating star), they are all civil servants.”
In his statement today, he expressed his “regrets”: “These statements had no intention of offending any sport but rather referred to the different internal and external rules of each sport (legal status of clubs, governance autonomy…).”
Gravina summoned before the Chamber of Deputies
During today’s extraordinary meeting in front of representatives of Italian football, Gabriele Gravina announced that he will answer questions from the Culture, Science, and Education Commission of the Chamber of Deputies on April 8, at 11am. This commission aims to assess the situation of Italian football.
