Italian Football Federation
Homepage: http://www.figc.it/
Rules and regulations: http://www.figc.it/en/86/3827/Norme.shtml
History:
Aside from its marked success in the international
sporting scene, Italy’s football governing
body, the Italian Football Federation or
the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC),
is also known for its colorful personalities,
episodes, and appearances.
One of the founding members of both FIFA
and UEFA, FIGC oversees the Italian football
league and the national team. Indeed, FIGC
is instrumental to team Italy’s impressive
record of three World Titles in 1934, 1938,
and 1982.
FIGC has had a long journey to becoming
what it is known today. Just when FIGC was
slowly recovering from the effects of the
war -having won four consecutive championships
until 1949 - the national team suffered
a heavy blow when the team’s plane
crashed, taking away Italy’s best
players. FIGC also had a rough period in
the 1950s when the national team failed
at the World Cups in Brazil (1950) and in
Switzerland (1954). This dark period in
FIGC’s history was capped when they
were eliminated during the qualifying rounds
in 1958.
Thus, major efforts to develop the national
team intensified between 1964 and 1980 when
foreign players were banned from the Italian
league, primarily to revive the national
team. A betting scandal in 1982, however,
led to the resignation of then President
Franchi; and in 1994, controversies between
"sacchians" and "anti-sacchians"
came about. By 2003, FIGC passed stricter
regulations to promote economic advantages
for the amateur sector and deter violence
in stadiums. 2004 was a busy and winning
year for Italy, having won the Under 21
European Champions and the bronze medal
at the Olympic Games in Athens.
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