Italy: "We were the second best league, today we are fourth" (G. Gravina, FIGC)

"A few years ago we were second (behind England) in the ranking of the best leagues, today we are fourth (behind England, Spain and Germany). The others have moved on, we have stayed put. We have to understand that every choice, but also every word, every gesture has an economic impact on the system. I still think that our football is better than the way we tell it," said Gabriele Gravina, president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), in an interview with the sports daily Corriere dello Sport on 20/01/2022.

On the subject of Italian football leaders, Gravina added: "I would say that they are a heterogeneous group. There's a bit of everything. But we have to develop if we want to improve our product."

Gabriele Gravina's desired development could be the introduction of playoffs: "It's time to try. In the 90s, nobody believed in the three-point win, but it worked. Playoffs in the Lega Pro and Serie B are a guarantee of visibility and success. It would be a mistake not to test them also in the Serie A TIM, while safeguarding the value of the sporting merit obtained in the table…