Italy: Demetrio Albertini candidate for FIGC presidency, but Carlo Tavecchio remains frontrunner

"I am available for the presidency of the federation. On the pitch, I have always been a playmaker and I would like to be the playmaker of change. We need to put the game and the youth at the centre of our programme," said Demetrio Albertini, 43, a former international midfielder for AC Milan and currently the vice-president of the FIGC (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio, the Italian football federation), in Milan (ITA), on 21/07/2014.

The election of the federation's new president will take place during the voting general assembly on 11/08/2014. Giancarlo Abete, the president since 02/04/2007, announced that he was leaving his position on 25/06/2014 following Italy's elimination in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil (from 12/06 to 13/07/2014). "I had already made my decision before the World Cup, whatever the result," he added.

The frontrunner in the election is Carlo Tavecchio, 71, who is supported by four of the seven families called upon to designate Abete's successor: the amateurs, Lega Pro (third Italian division), Serie B (second division) and 18 of the 20 Serie…