Persekutuan ini telah ditubuhkan pada tahun 1898 ketika sukan ini semakin berkembang di negara ini dan memerlukan satu struktur formal untuk mengawal bola sepak dan pasukan bola sepak di negara itu. Jawatan presiden telah diputuskan di Turin apabila Mario Vicary diundi bersama-sama Luigi D'Ovidio.

Selepas ditubuhkan, persatuan bola sepak ini diberi nama berbeza iaitu, Federazione Italiana Football (FIF) kerana kesemua syarat dan peraturan diikut selari dengan peraturan Persatuan Bola Sepak England.

In the few years before and after the introduction of the Federation, clubs all over the country from Genoa, Turin, Milan, Naples, Rome, Palermo, and others were forming.

When, in 1909, it was suggested to change the federation's name at annual board elections held in Milan at the end of August, the few teams attending, representing less than 50% the active clubs, decided to send a postcard asking all teams to vote for the 5 new names discussed during the meeting. The new name approved was "Federazione Italiana Giuoco del Calcio" and since then this has been the name of the Italian Football Federation.

This Italian Federation had always been an amateur federation respecting FIFA rules since became a member in 1905. At the end of World War 1, the federation had seen impressive development and several footballers were judged to be professional players and banned according to FIFA agreements.
From 1922 to 1926, new and more severe rules were approved for keeping the "amateur" status real and effective, such as footballers' residence and transfer controls but the best players were secretly paid and moved from other provinces illegally. Foreigners had to live in the country in order to get a residence visa and the players' card.

When, in 1926, the Italian Federation Board resigned following a very difficult referees' strike, the fascist Lando Ferretti, president of the Italian Olympic Committee (C.O.N.I.), nominated a Commission to reform all Leagues and federal rules. The Commission signed a document called the "Carta di Viareggio" (Rules issued in Viareggio) where football players were recognized as "non-amateurs" and able to apply for refunds for the money they had lost while playing for the football teams. They had to sign the declaration not being professional players so that FIFA rules were respected because for FIGC they were appearing as "amateurs" receiving just refunds. It was the beginning of the professionism in Italy.

The Carta di Viareggio reduced the number of foreign players to be fielded to just one per match so that the majority of Hungarians remained jobless and got back to their country.

Between 1964 and 1980, foreign players were banned from the Italian league, primarily to revive the national team.