ROME — The countdown to May 13 is on. That is the deadline for candidates to formally declare their intention to run for the presidency of the FIGC, Italy’s football federation, ahead of the electoral assembly scheduled for June 22.
The names in the frame are by now well known: on one side, former CONI president Giovanni Malagò; on the other, Giancarlo Abete, current head of the Lega Nazionale Dilettanti and a man who already led the federation between 2007 and 2014. Neither, however, has yet made their candidacy official, with both still holding their cards close to their chest.
“I promised the stakeholders I met that, out of fairness and respect, I would wait for them to have their say. There is still plenty of time until Wednesday evening,” Malagò said.
Yet even without a formal announcement, the former head of Italian sport can already count on support approaching the 50% mark, having secured the backing of the players’ and coaches’ associations — which together account for 30% of the vote — as well as Serie A, worth 18%, which has supported him from the outset. While Lega Pro appears unlikely to declare its hand within the next 48 hours, Serie B may move sooner, with its 6% share of the vote expected to be committed by Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the future of Italian football remains at the centre of a broader debate. CONI president Luciano Buonfiglio issued a pointed reminder to both potential candidates, warning that “whoever becomes FIGC president will need to act with the composure of someone facing a far from simple path, and must understand that decisions on reform can no longer be put off.”
Serie A chief executive Luigi De Siervo was equally forthright in his endorsement of Malagò, describing the federation as having found in him, “with a level of unity I haven't seen in years and with remarkable clarity, an authoritative figure capable of taking on a significant legacy, relaunching Italian football and doing so within a programme of reforms that is now necessary and no longer deferrable.”
From Abete, with just one day to go before the deadline, not a word. The LND president has nonetheless made clear on multiple occasions that he intends to “press ahead.” The race, it seems, remains very much a two-horse affair.
