World Cup legends Cafu and Cannavaro rally behind Infantino as Fifa leadership battle splits former stars

Sao Paulo, Aug 27 — Former football legends Fabio Cannavaro and Cafu have rallied in support of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, despite his previous plan to allow private investment into the World Cup. Their social media posts came following a call for "change" in FIFA's leadership by former player Mikael Silvestre. Infantino's scrapped plan had caused a crisis in the sport, prompting many influential figures to urge him to resign.

Cannavaro, who was part of Italy's 2006 World Cup-winning team and is now Uzbekistan's national team coach, stated, "Over the last 10 years, world football has improved... Infantino has done a great job... Not acknowledging that would be intellectually dishonest." Other Brazilians, including Cafu, Roberto Carlos, and Javier Zanetti, echoed similar sentiments, praising Infantino's efforts to promote player representation in football.

Silvestre's group also released a letter, warning that "power has clouded the current leadership's ability to distinguish between their own interests and what is truly best for football." Despite calls for his resignation, Infantino is still planning to run in FIFA's next presidential election in March 2027.