Vito Cozzoli has been elected president of Italy’s Lega Volley Femminile, succeeding Mauro Fabris after the outgoing president’s 20-year tenure. Cozzoli received 18.75 votes to Massimo Beduschi’s 11.25 at the league’s electoral assembly in Venice on Tuesday 29 September.
The assembly also elected Serie A1 and Serie A2 representatives to the board. Cozzoli, the chief executive of Autostrade per lo Stato and a former president of Sport e Salute, said he regarded the post as a responsibility to serve women’s volleyball and said the league should pursue growth, sustainability and participation.
A transition after two decades under Fabris
Fabris chaired the assembly for the final time before leaving office. According to the official Lega Volley Femminile announcement, he was first elected president on 29 September 2006, making the handover exactly 20 years after his initial election.
In his address to the assembly, Fabris reflected on the league’s development during his time in charge and thanked the clubs that had supported him, as well as league chief executive Enzo Bruno Barbaro and the organisation’s staff.
The assembly was held at the Hampton by Hilton in Venice. The official announcement said the outgoing board member Giuseppe Pirola presented the accounts for the previous season, while the assembly unanimously approved them. The league said Pirola reported positive results for the exercise and compliance with the budget forecasts.
The board elections also involved a second Serie A1 round following an agreement between candidates. That agreement established a financial delegation for Pirola and named Pietro Paolella as president of the Consulta, according to the league.
Serie A2 support proved decisive
The overall result showed a clear win for Cozzoli, but the club voting split was less straightforward across the league’s two divisions. Volleyball.it reported that Serie A1 was divided evenly, with seven clubs backing Cozzoli and seven supporting Beduschi.
In Serie A2, however, Cozzoli received 13 votes to Beduschi’s three. Volleyball.it’s club-by-club count recorded 13 of Cozzoli’s 20 supporting clubs in A2, while the official announcement reported a weighted total of 18.75 votes.
The figures mean Cozzoli begins his presidency with support across both sections of the league, but without a majority among the Serie A1 clubs in the reported club-by-club split. That is a relevant backdrop to his emphasis on dialogue and collaboration, although the election result itself does not establish how individual clubs will approach the new administration.
Cozzoli said women’s volleyball was a distinctive sporting and social asset which could further strengthen its place in Italy and internationally. He said the league should operate as the movement’s industrial engine, working to enhance clubs, players, audiences, young people, families and local areas. He also identified increased revenue, larger crowds and broader audiences as areas for progress.
New board representatives confirmed
The assembly elected five divisional representatives to the board. Serie A1 chose Ivano Angeli of Megabox Ond. Savio Vallefoglia, Sandra Leoncini of Savino Del Bene Scandicci and Andrea Veneziani of ChorusLife Volley Bergamo. Their election followed a second round and an agreement between candidates, according to the league.
Serie A2 elected Stefano Condina of Dragons Offanengo and Roberto Mignemi of Ferraro SMI Roma Volley in its first ballot. The new board then unanimously proposed Barbaro as the league’s chief executive and seventh director; the assembly approved that role unanimously.
Cozzoli thanked both divisions for their confidence, acknowledged Fabris’s contribution to the growth of women’s volleyball and thanked Beduschi for offering collaboration for the future. The A1 split and A2-backed result provide context for Cozzoli’s calls for dialogue and collaboration.