Yesterday, in the late afternoon, the elective Assembly of the Board of Directors of the Paralympic and Experimental Football Division (DCPS) of the FIGC confirmed that Franco Carraro would be president for another four-year period.

FIGC President, Gabriele Gravina, said: “Good luck to President Carraro and to the whole DCPS Board of Directors: the work that has been done up to this point is simply extraordinary. We need to keep working with the same commitment and the same passion to make football more inclusive than ever, now and in the future. The work done by the Division is a huge boost for the FIGC, and we will continue to support their project with new ideas and meaningful contributions”.

Throughout the Federal Council on 27 March, Armando Caligaris, Christian Mossino, Simone Perrotta, Santo Rullo, Elisabetta Scorcu and Nicola Simonelli were already nominated. Yesterday, Emanuela Andronaco and Giacomo Tramati were elected by the Assembly. Elisabetta Scorcu was confirmed as vice president. The last member of the Directors Board will be elected by the Italian Paralympic Committee.

Amongst the biggest sporting leaders in Italian football history ex-CONI and ex-FIGC president, and also International Olympic Committee member, Carraro was re-elected unanimously by the Assembly.

He said this after the election: "Thank you all, first of all to those in the football world that we have worked closely alongside in these last four years: the Leagues (A-B-Lega Pro-LND),  the AIA, the AIAC and the AIC. I would then like to thank the DCPS, the athletes, their families and all the volunteers that support us. I also intend to point out the great landmarks achieved by the outgoing Board of Directors, whom I thank, for the last four years”.

Carraro then added: “The results went beyond every expectation. We have practically tripled all the main markers: there are over 3330 male and female footballers who are members for 175 clubs and 250 teams, with around 1400 matches played throughout the season. With respect to four years ago, we have also doubled the number of regions involved; we now have 17. Step by step, we have made this a solid and physical reality: FIGC were the first in the World to create an internal Paralympic Division, and now this project is considered by UEFA and other federations as an international reference point”