The former head of the Italian Olympic Committee takes charge of a sport in crisis after Italy's third successive failure to reach the World Cup prompted his predecessor's resignation.Giovanni Malagò was elected president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) on Monday, tasked with reviving a national game that has suffered one of the most damaging periods in its history.  Malagò, former president of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), was elected by the FIGC assembly with 68.58 per cent of the vote, receiving 343,084 preferences against the 145,036 - or 29.17 per cent - obtained by his rival candidate, the former FIGC president Giancarlo Abete. Blank ballots accounted for a further 2.25 per cent. Malagò's aim Speaking after his election, Malagò declared: "I have always sought one single aim: to make Italy great." He added that he felt "a deep and moving sense of responsibility," telling the assembly: "Alone I can do nothing, but with you I can do everything."   Malagò brings a substantial record in Italian sport administration. He led CONI to its highest-ever medal haul at the Paris Olympics, and was also president of the Fondazione Milano-Cortina 2026, the organising body for the Winter Olympics. Departure of Gravina The election follows the resignation in April of Gabriele Gravina, who had led the FIGC since 2018. Gravina stepped down two days after Italy failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup - the country's third consecutive absence from the tournament - following a penalty-shootout defeat to Bosnia-Herzegovina in the play-off final in Zenica.   Until that defeat, Gravina had enjoyed solid support within the federation. He had been re-elected in 2021 and again in 2025 with 98.8 per cent of the vote, having broadly reconciled the competing factions within Italian football. The result against Bosnia brought that consensus to an abrupt end, triggering intense criticism from politicians, the public, and figures from other sports.   Sports minister Andrea Abodi had called for a wholesale rebuilding of Italian football from the top, arguing against simply proceeding to new elections and favouring instead a fresh start with someone "who comes from the game" and had no ties to the outgoing cycle. Italy's World Cup flop Among the decisions criticised during Gravina's tenure was his choice, after Italy's shock elimination by North Macedonia in 2022, to retain Roberto Mancini as coach - a manager Gravina had not himself appointed but who had performed well. That decision was subsequently seen as the start of a damaging cycle, culminating in Mancini's abrupt departure for Saudi Arabia.   After Italy's defeat by Switzerland in the last sixteen of Euro 2024, Gravina again initially retained coach Luciano Spalletti before eventually dismissing him, by which point a heavy loss in Norway had already placed World Cup qualification in jeopardy.   Following Gravina's departure, the head of delegation Gianluigi Buffon resigned along with head coach Gennaro Gattuso. What's next? Italy's next competitive fixtures are Nations League matches in September. Malagò inherits a federation that must rebuild its structures, reconnect with a disillusioned public and restore credibility to the national team before the next World Cup qualification cycle begins.   Photo credit: GIACOMO MORINI / Shutterstock.com