Burnham brands Infantino’s private investment plan ‘outrageous’

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has launched a strong attack on FIFA president Gianni Infantino, describing his proposal to open the global governing body to private-sector investors as an “outrageous proposal”.

Burnham said that even considering the plan showed that the Swiss executive was “the wrong person” to lead FIFA. He made the comments to journalists on Friday during a visit to Sheffield in northern England.

“It was an outrageous proposal, and the mere possibility of considering it shows, in my view, that Infantino is the wrong person to lead the organisation,” Burnham said.

His remarks represent a clear call for FIFA’s leadership to be reconsidered, as opposition to the proposed investment model grows both within football’s governing structures and beyond them.

Senior FIFA adviser resigns

The criticism came on the same day that Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to the FIFA president, announced his resignation from the world governing body in protest at the plan.

Cordeiro, a former banker, condemned the proposal in his resignation statement.

“Selling a permanent stake in football’s most valuable assets to raise $4.2bn makes no sense. It is mortgaging the future of football without any convincing justification,” he said.

His departure adds to the pressure on Infantino, who is facing growing resistance to the idea of allowing private capital into FIFA.

The plan has triggered concern among officials who fear that commercial interests could gain a lasting influence over football’s global assets. Critics have accused FIFA’s current leadership of treating the sport as a purely commercial project at the expense of sporting values and football’s heritage.

Threat of World Cup boycott

Opposition has spread beyond Britain and FIFA’s own administration, with Europe’s governing body Uefa reportedly threatening to boycott the World Cup if the plan goes ahead.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) also joined the criticism on Friday. In a statement, it said: “Any proposal that threatens the tournament must be reconsidered.”

The comments from both continental confederations underline the seriousness of the dispute and the potential consequences for FIFA’s relationship with major football authorities.

A boycott threat would represent one of the most serious challenges to FIFA’s authority in recent years. However, the source article does not provide further details about how such a boycott would be organised or which World Cup edition it would affect.

FIFA attempts to calm the dispute

FIFA issued a statement on Friday morning, several hours before Cordeiro announced his resignation, in an attempt to reassure the football community and contain the growing crisis.

“No one is selling football. This is something FIFA would never even consider,” the governing body said.

The statement failed to ease the anger directed at Infantino. The FIFA president is now facing the biggest crisis of his time in office, with opposition coming from political leaders, senior figures within FIFA and continental football organisations.

Questions are increasingly being asked about whether Infantino can continue to lead FIFA while the proposed investment plan faces such widespread rejection from groups involved in the global game.

The coming days are expected to be crucial in determining the future of the project and the pressure on FIFA’s president. For now, the proposal remains at the centre of an escalating dispute over the ownership, governance and commercial direction of football’s most powerful organisation.