Cafu Highlights FIFA's Shift Towards Player Involvement

Cafu has seen football from every angle – from the touchline at World Cups to the boardrooms where the sport’s future is carved out. Now, he says, the game is finally listening to those who lived it.

In a message on social media, the Brazil legend highlighted what he sees as a fundamental shift inside FIFA: players are no longer just faces for campaigns, they are part of the machinery that makes decisions.

“Over the past 10 years, we have followed the work that FIFA and President Infantino have carried out to promote representation in football – something that had not happened before,” Cafu said. “Players and former players have been given a voice and a place at the table by taking part in committees, projects, and working groups.”

That, for him, is the key change. Not photo opportunities. Not ceremonial roles. Real influence.

Cafu underlined that the involvement of former professionals now stretches well beyond the traditional ambassadorial circuit. Their years of experience on the pitch, he stressed, are feeding directly into sporting policy and shaping how the game is run. Within FIFA, this group of ex-players feels listened to, and crucially, respected.

“Our opinions are heard, and many of the initiatives carried out in the name of the sport have been shaped by our reflections, ideas, plans, and participation,” he added.

For Cafu, this is about more than governance. It is about football’s power away from the stadium lights. “We know how football can transform lives, improve societies and expand opportunities to people all over the world; and we are committed to continue bringing that hope to them,” he said.

That sense of responsibility runs through his message. He spoke of backing what he called the “great progress” of the last decade and of a determination to ensure that progress does not stall. The commitment, as he framed it, is to keep supporting FIFA’s work so that the game “continues to reach and benefit people in all the countries where football is played around the world.”

The collaboration, he insisted, is not a passing phase. The established working groups of former players are set to keep their seats, keep their voice, and keep shaping regulations and development projects in the years ahead.

The target is ambitious but clear: a global game that truly feels global in its benefits, with football’s growth touching every corner of the planet. For Cafu and his peers, the task now is to turn that promise into reality, one decision-making table at a time.