Exactly 20 years after the beginning of one of the longest managerial eras in European club volleyball, the Italian women's volleyball league has a new president. On September 29, 2026, Vito Cozzoli was elected as the successor to Mauro Fabris, who took over Lega Volley Femminile on the same date in 2006. Fabris is stepping down after 20 years and eight terms in charge – the rules of Lega Volley Femminile do not place a limit on the number of his consecutive re-elections.
At the electoral assembly held in Venice, Cozzoli convincingly won the vote against the other candidate, Massimo Beduschi. Thus, the clubs from Serie A1 and Serie A2 ended Fabris' 20-year period of leadership and entrusted the management of the League to the 62-year-old manager from Bari.
Cozzoli is a former president of "Sport e Salute" and is currently the CEO of Autostrade per lo Stato. After his election, he identified growth, sustainability, attracting more spectators, and increasing revenues as the main directions for the new leadership.
"Women's volleyball is a unique sporting and social asset that can continue to grow and strengthen its role in Italy and worldwide. Lega Volley Femminile will be the industrial engine of the movement," Cozzoli stated after the election.
The change at the top also has an interesting connection with Bulgaria. From this season, our men's national team coach, Gianlorenzo Blengini, is leading Vero Volley Milano – one of the leading clubs in women's Serie A1. Milano was among the clubs supporting Cozzoli's candidacy, and Vero Volley's president, Alessandra Marzari, was part of the so-called "committee of wise men" that worked on selecting a candidate to succeed Fabris.
The vote itself was preceded by tense weeks, with reports appearing in Italian media about opposition between different groups in club volleyball, political influence, and strained relations between the League and the Italian Volleyball Federation (FIPAV).
Along with the president, the new board of directors was also elected. Representatives of Serie A1 are Ivano Angeli from Vallefoglia, Sandra Leoncini from Savino Del Bene Scandicci, and Andrea Veneziani from Volley Bergamo. Serie A2 will be represented by Stefano Condina from Offanengo and Roberto Minnemi from Roma Volley. Enzo Bruno Barbaro was unanimously confirmed as executive director and the seventh member of the board of directors.
Fabris used the last assembly under his leadership to look back at the beginning of his long period at the helm of the League.
"Twenty wonderful years, full of growth and many important personal experiences. I wanted these two days to be in Venice to close a cycle of exactly 20 years, after I was first elected on September 29, 2006. An incredible coincidence," said the outgoing president.
Fabris admitted that when he was first elected, he did not imagine he would remain in charge for two full decades, and he thanked the clubs, executive director Enzo Barbaro, and the League's team for their collaborative work.
Thus, September 29 now marks both boundaries of an unusually long era in Italian women's volleyball – the beginning of Mauro Fabris' leadership in 2006 and the election of his successor Vito Cozzoli exactly 20 years later.
photos:legavolleyfemminile.it
