Laureatosi in giurisprudenza a Catania, Umberto divenne a meno di ventitré anni presidente della Juventus e nel 1959 venne eletto presidente della Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio. ###>He was also chairman and later honorary chairman of Juventus, the football team long-associated with FIAT and the Agnelli family, and was for a time the president of the Italian Football Association.