Italy’s outgoing football president, Gabriele Gravina, has called for redirecting betting revenues towards youth development and infrastructure improvements to revive the sport amid a deep crisis following the national team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup for the third consecutive time.
Gravina, who stepped down as head of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) on April 2, presented proposals aimed at addressing the historic low point faced by the four-time World Cup champions. This failure has intensified criticism of the entire Italian football system.
He emphasized that the repeated setbacks of the Azzurri stem from long-term structural weaknesses rather than isolated errors. His report recommends allocating a portion of the substantial gambling proceeds linked to football into grassroots programs and youth academies, alongside essential investments in new or renovated stadiums.
In a significant development, Gravina also suggested lifting the 2018 ban on betting advertising and sponsorships, which was originally introduced to combat gambling addiction in Italy, home to Europe’s largest gambling market.
The FIGC report highlighted a major issue: the limited involvement of Italian players in Serie A, where foreign players occupy about 68 percent of playing time—one of the highest rates in Europe. The situation is even more severe for younger players, with Italians under 21 accounting for less than 2 percent of total Serie A minutes.
To counter this trend, the federation proposed financial incentives for clubs that field young Italian talent, increased investment in youth academies, and expedited approval processes for new or upgraded stadium projects.
The report also pointed to a fragile financial structure within Italian professional football. It revealed annual losses exceeding 700 million euros (USD 818.37 million), high debt levels, and a history of clubs either collapsing or being excluded from competitions.
Concluding, the report stressed that sustainable recovery would require coordinated efforts across the sport, warning that leadership changes or isolated reforms alone would not suffice to restore Italy’s football competitiveness.
Gravina’s successor is expected to be elected in June. Following Italy’s unexpected defeat to Bosnia, national team manager Gennaro Gattuso and team delegation head Gianluigi Buffon also resigned.
