Federazione Italiana Rugby president unexpectedly dethroned

After four years at the helm of the Federazione Italiana Rugby, Marzio Innocenti has lost his re-election bid, with challenger Andrea Duodo earning 55 per cent of the vote to win the presidency, in a voting process concluded on the 15th of September.

Sergio Parisse was one of the supporters of Duodo’s candidacy, claiming profound changes are needed to steer Italian rugby in the right direction.

The newly elected president started his career as a youth Benetton Treviso player, where he played until 2002 when he retired to pursue a degree in political science.

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The 53-year-old then worked as the team manager for Italy’s U18s and U20s teams in the late 2000s, before joining the board as an auditor in the Dondi administration, a role he reprised in the Gavazzi and Innocenti administrations.

Innocenti’s loss was unexpected, as Italy showed clear signs of growth in the men’s and women’s programs, claiming strong results in the youth categories. It was under his presidency that Italy won an away Six Nations game for the first time, and beat Australia; while the women’s senior team was able to qualify for the quarter-finals in the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup.

Unfortunately for the now-former FIR president, most Italian clubs supported Duodo’s agenda, with Zebre Parma being one of the main focal points. The URC franchise’s future has been in doubt since 2018, but until now was able to remain afloat and avoid being axed and replaced by a new team.

Enhancing and raising the profile of the local club competitions, reevaluating the academy system, developing rugby in the southern regions of Italy, and investing in the base; are some of the priorities of the newly elected president of the FIR.

It is expected that changes are to be announced in the following months – with Zebre’s future being one of the vital dossiers of the new presidency.