About The Speaker
Francesco Ghirelli
He has been president of Lega Pro since November 2018, he was reelected in January 2021. He has been vice president of the FIGC since March 2022. His professional life is not just in the sports industry. At a young age he devoted himself first to teaching and then to politics, becoming president of the Regional Council of Umbria. Leaving politics behind, he became general manager of Perugia Calcio, taking the club from Serie C, to Serie B, and then to Serie A. A great journey with Luciano Gaucci as president. He then becomes CEO of Bari Calcio, four championships in Serie A, an unforgettable experience with Vincenzo Matarrese as president. He is appointed CEO of the National Professional League with Franco Carraro president until he reaches the top of the FIGC as general manager and general secretary. In 2010 he was appointed general director of the organizing committee of the Men's Volleyball World Championships. A major international sporting event closed without a deficit. In November of the same year the entry into Lega Pro in the role of general manager, with Mario Macalli as president, then with Gabriele Gravina as president. The self-reform from 90 to 60 clubs, the project of the fight against illegality in sports betting, the call for common European legislation, the request for a resource quota; the Serie C League at the UN in Geneva, organizing a successful conference on the subject. Hilites project, later transformed into TV via streaming, the first experience in the world, now "copied" in France, Holland and many other countries. In 2016 he founded, together with Luigi Ludovici, the Italian Beach Volleyball League.
