Andrea Duodo he can be doubly happy, worries about making ends meet at the Fir aside. On 15 September he was elected the new president of the Italian Rugby Federation. On November 22, the eve of Italia-All Blacks and the first non-football event at the Juventus Stadium in Turin, can boast an original record, together with his colleague Marco Mazzierielected president of the Italian baseball and softball federation (Fibs) last Saturday.
Twenty-two renewals so far
Out of 22 electoral renewals made so far, Two e Mazzieri they are the only opposition candidates to have beaten the candidate president in office: Marzio Innocenti regarding rugby and Andrea Marcon regarding baseball. The news was reported by Tiscali Sportsciting an agency Ansaa few days before the electoral renewal of the Fibs and the Italian Surfing, Water Skiing and Wakeboarding Federation (Fissw). “Out of twenty elections for the new four-year Olympic period held so far – it was written in the article – the outgoing president won 16 times, on two occasions he did not stand for re-election and one federation (handball) was placed under commissionership”. We at Rugby meet we only updated the statistics, given that water skiing confirmed the incumbent president Claudio Ponzani (single candidate), while baseball chose to change.
Armored federations
“One in 20 makes it: but they lose – the article always wrote Tiscali/Ansa – the magical world of sport overturns popular mottos and gives, as well as dreams of glory to its members, granite certainties to those who manage it as federal president. The statistics of the (lack of) turnover at the top of sports federations take on paradoxical numbers. Photographing a fact, there are no more armored institutions.” An unfortunately true statement. Probably one of the evils of the Italian sports system. But as with every rule there is an exception and it consists of rugbyas well as baseball.
The old and the new
Even in the Fir. elections of 2021 the opposition candidate, then Innocenti, had beaten the president in office, Alfredo Gavazzi. But the conditions of that vote were particular, a true case in itself, due to the illness of Gavazzi (who later died) and the split continuity front (Gavazzi and Paolo Vaccari were candidates). This time Innocenti was at the height of his power and was coming off a successful season with the national teams, but he lost anyway, because the old (Vaccari vice president) and the new (who in 2021 supported Innocenti and abandoned him) determined the election of Two.
Two out of 22 therefore manage to lose the elections as incumbent federal president. Will there be a third? The next federation to vote on Sunday 24 November in Pisa is rowing (Fic). The outgoing number one is the legendary Giuseppe Dazzle themhe will face the other Olympian Davide Tizzano.
