CONI places FIGC under special administration, Malagò appointed commissioner of himself

CONI’s National Board proposed and the National Council unanimously ratified the special administration of the Italian Football Federation (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio). Giovanni Malagò himself, who had served as president of the Football Federation since last June before losing the position because he was not registered as a member at the time of his election, was called upon to serve as special commissioner.

The mechanism that moves Malagò from forfeiture to appointment as commissioner is based on a formal flaw: the absence of the membership registration required at the time of his election as president, a requirement that, according to reports, had not been met. CONI chose to entrust the special administration of the Federation to the very person who had just lost its leadership, in a sequence that leaves the football body’s leadership essentially unchanged while formally altering its status.

The special administration must lead to new elections no later than January 31, 2027, with Malagò indicated as the probable sole candidate for the position ahead of that deadline. Serie A League expressed a favorable opinion on Malagò’s appointment as commissioner, a step that signals cross-cutting support from the professional football world for the solution devised by CONI, making a challenge to the procedure by system components less likely.

CONI president Luciano Buonfiglio commented on the matter, describing Malagò’s position as that of a victim of an accidental circumstance.

“No one won or lost, sport won” — Luciano Buonfiglio, president of CONI

The formula used by Buonfiglio accompanies a decision that, in substance, returns Malagò to the top of the Federation with a different title and a deadline set by statutory law.

The news currently stems from a single source, the official CONI statement, picked up by two outlets that report the same content without further elements of independent verification. The final composition of candidacies for the leadership of the Federation remains open ahead of the elections set by January 31, 2027.