Italy’s football federation (FIGC) elected a new president at the second attempt on Monday when Gabriele Gravina was chosen to replace Carlo Tavecchio who resigned last year over the national team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup.
Gravina, 65, previously the head of the third tier Serie C, was the only candidate and received 97.2 percent of the vote at the FIGC assembly in Rome, the federation said in a statement.
A previous attempt to elect a new leader in January had failed after four rounds of voting when none of the three candidates, including Gravina, were able to muster more than 50 percent of the votes.
Since then, the FIGC had been under the leadership of a commissioner.
“To be elected with 97.2 percent is very satisfying but it’s also a big responsibility,” Gravina told the assembly. “It means that Italian football has gained awareness of the need for change.
“Fans, managers and members expect concrete and correct answers — it will be a race against time.”