FLORENCE, Italy -- Rocco Commisso, the outspoken owner of Italian soccer club Fiorentina and chairman of New York-based Mediacom Communications, has died. He was 76.
Both Fiorentina and Mediacom announced Commisso's death early Saturday without providing a cause.
"After a prolonged period of medical treatment, our beloved president has left us, and today we all mourn his passing," Fiorentina said. "His love for Fiorentina was the greatest gift he gave himself."
After making Mediacom into one of the United States' biggest cable television companies, Commisso purchased Fiorentina in 2019 and became known for speaking out against Italy's bureaucracy and inability to build new stadiums.
Commisso was born in Calabria and immigrated to the United States at the age of 12.
He also owned the New York Cosmos, and played soccer at Columbia University, the Ivy League school that he continued to support philanthropically. The university's soccer stadium is named for him.
The Cosmos called Commisso "a passionate leader who dedicated his life to the game of soccer and to the future of the sport in this country.
"Rocco fought for what is best for American soccer, believing in the growth of the game, the importance of community, and the power of clubs to inspire the next generation," the New York club said on X.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino also paid tribute to Commisso.
"I am saddened to learn of the passing of Rocco Commisso, the president of Fiorentina, who dedicated his life to our wonderful sport," Infantino wrote on Instagram. "When I met him he spoke to me about his players like his children, about his club like a part of himself. My heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and everyone who knew him and worked with him. A Great."
At Fiorentina, Commisso celebrated reaching the Conference League final in 2023 and 2024.
But the team has struggled this season and is currently in Serie A's relegation zone.
Commisso is survived by his wife, Catherine, and two children, Giuseppe and Marisa.
