{
  "id": 3615132,
  "title": "Cannavaro, Cafu back Infantino despite Fifa crisis",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/cannavaro-cafu-back-infantino-despite-fifa-crisis",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-26T23:09:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/sports/2026/08/27/cannavaro-cafu-back-infantino-despite-fifa-crisis"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Despite calls for his resignation, Fifa president Gianni Infantino has boldly declared his intention to run in the next presidential election scheduled for March 2027. This determination comes after a controversial plan to allow private investment in the World Cup was abandoned, causing a crisis in football governance. Former World Cup stars Fabio Cannavaro and Cafu have joined a group of retired players supporting Infantino on social media. Cannavaro, who played a key role in Italy's 2006 World Cup victory, praised Infantino's efforts to improve world football and acknowledged that his stance on Infantino's leadership was not intellectually dishonest. Cafu, a three-time World Cup winner with Brazil, echoed similar sentiments, highlighting Infantino's role in increasing player representation in football. Other former stars, including Cafu's teammate Roberto Carlos, Javier Zanetti, Esteban Cambiasso, Ivan Cordoba, and Jared Borgetti, have also expressed their backing for Infantino. Despite the turmoil, Infantino remains steadfast in his plans to continue leading Fifa in the upcoming election.",
  "summary": "Fabio Cannavaro says football has improved over the decade, stressing that failing to acknowledge it would be intellectually dishonest.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 10,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Football legends take on Infantino and FIFA",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/football-legends-take-on-infantino-and-fifa",
        "published": "2026-08-24T16:50:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "BusinessDay Nigeria",
        "title": "Infantino’s FIFA presidency under pressure as Irish FA withdraws support",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/infantinos-fifa-presidency-under-pressure-as-irish-fa-withdraws",
        "published": "2026-08-25T19:06:13.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Nation Africa",
        "title": "Why Fifa needs more women in leadership as Infantino faces pressure to exit",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/why-fifa-needs-more-women-in-leadership-as-infantino-faces-pressure",
        "published": "2026-08-26T03:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "Infantino has no future at FIFA, European Leagues chief says",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/infantino-has-no-future-at-fifa-european-leagues-chief-says",
        "published": "2026-08-26T09:22:01.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Infantino has no future at Fifa, says European Leagues chief",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/infantino-has-no-future-at-fifa-says-european-leagues-chief",
        "published": "2026-08-26T10:12:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "Infantino has no future at FIFA, says European Leagues chief",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/infantino-has-no-future-at-fifa-says-european-leagues-chief-3493144",
        "published": "2026-08-26T10:42:01.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "City AM",
        "title": "Uefa to call off Fifa boycott and step up talks over Infantino at Champions League draw",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/uefa-to-call-off-fifa-boycott-and-step-up-talks-over-infantino-at",
        "published": "2026-08-26T14:03:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Associated Press",
        "title": "UEFA set to end threat of FIFA events boycott over Infantino’s failed World Cup investor plan",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/uefa-set-to-end-threat-of-fifa-events-boycott-over-infantinos-failed-3544600",
        "published": "2026-08-26T16:23:02.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Gulf News",
        "title": "Italy withdraws support for FIFA chief Gianni Infantino",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/italy-withdraws-support-for-fifa-chief-gianni-infantino",
        "published": "2026-08-26T16:44:57.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}