Canavaro and Cafu back Infantino

World Cup champions Fabio Cannavaro and Cafu have joined a group of former players supporting FIFA President Gianni Infantino, despite his scrapped plan to open the door to private-sector investments in the World Cup. The messages of support, shared on social media, came after another group of former players, led by Frenchman Michael Essien, called for “change” in FIFA’s leadership. The abandoned plan had plunged FIFA and world football into a crisis, with many prominent figures in the game calling on the Swiss official to step down. Cannavaro, a member of Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning squad, wrote on social media yesterday, “Over the past ten years, world football has evolved,” adding that players “have returned to the forefront of the scene.” The former defender, who is currently coaching the Uzbekistan national team, added: “Infantino has done a great job... and not acknowledging that would be a lack of intellectual integrity.”