Malagò names fencer Bianchedi as Italy's first female head of delegation

A surprise appointment

Giovanni Malagò, the new president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), has named Diana Bianchedi as head of delegation of the Italian national football team. The announcement came in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport on 9 August 2026. Bianchedi, 56, is the first woman to hold the position, a role previously occupied by Gigi Riva, Gianluca Vialli, and Gianluigi Buffon.

The appointment completes a restructuring of the national team setup that includes Roberto Mancini as head coach, Claudio Ranieri as technical director, and Gianfranco Zola as coordinator between the senior squad and youth teams. The reshuffle follows a period of upheaval that led to a rupture with Paolo Maldini and Leonardo, after which the current arrangement with Mancini and Ranieri was established.

Bianchedi's sporting and academic career

A two-time Olympic champion in women's team foil, Bianchedi won gold at Barcelona 1992 and Sydney 2000, the latter alongside Valentina Vezzali and Giovanna Trillini. Her competitive record includes five team gold medals at the World Fencing Championships (1991, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2001) and two bronze medals, plus World Cup victories at junior level in 1989 and senior level in 1993. Born in Milan on 4 November 1969, she graduated in medicine and surgery in 1996 and specialised in sports medicine with honours.

Her fencing career nearly ended on 22 July 1996, when she ruptured her Achilles tendon during her second Olympic campaign in Atlanta. She recovered to win her second Olympic team gold four years later in Sydney.

From athlete to administrator

Bianchedi joined CONI, the Italian Olympic Committee, on 18 April 2001. At 31, she became both the first woman and the youngest member ever of the executive board, and was simultaneously appointed vice president. She later served as president of the merits commission and as a lecturer at CONI's School of Sport. She is currently vice president of CONI and recently served as Chief Strategy Planning & Legacy Officer for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.

Malagò framed the appointment as a "cultural revolution" aimed at reconnecting football with the broader sporting world.

A choice that responds to a need, or rather, a demand from the fans, from the people, from Italians: Diana enjoys international prestige and credibility, two-time Olympic champion, a CV of studies and specialisations, a degree in medicine, sporting and managerial masters, a top role in Milano Cortina and vice president of CONI.

Strategy and continuity

Malagò outlined a competitive roadmap built around three tournaments: Euro 2028, the 2030 World Cup, and Euro 2032. He defended the retention of Roberto Mancini as head coach, calling him "the right choice," and thanked Antonio Conte for his consistent support of the national team.

A more sceptical reading, advanced by Fanpage, holds that the appointments amount to continuity rather than genuine change. Bianchedi has historic ties to the CONI leadership from Malagò's own tenure there, and the overall staffing pattern, from Mancini's confirmation to the technical staff, favours figures close to the existing establishment. Fanpage also described the FIGC as under commissionership, placing the restructuring within a federation under external oversight.