The Italian national football federation FICG (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio) has announced that Giancarlo Abete will take over as its new head in April. Former president Franco Carraro was forced to quit in May 2006 after the so-called calciopoli scandal, in which referees and club managers were allegedly fixing the results of matches in the serie A league. The FICG has since been under the control of interim heads Guido Rossi (who moved on to chair Telecom Italia following the resignation of Marco Tronchetti Provera last September) and Luca Pancalli, the vice president of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI).

Giancarlo Abete was formerly an MP for the Christian Democrat party before moving into football administration 19 years ago.