Andy Burnham calls on Infantino to resign over 'outrageous' World Cup stake sale plans

Visiting a community centre in Sheffield on Friday, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said his view was strengthening that FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s proposal to sell a stake in the World Cup was an outrageous suggestion. He added that the very idea being brought forward showed Infantino was the wrong man to lead the organisation.

Burnham made the remarks while responding to reporters and expressed astonishment when told that Infantino intended to press ahead despite widespread opposition. The intervention makes Burnham the first leader of a major country to call for Infantino’s resignation.

FIFA’s plan is to create an investment vehicle that would hold commercial rights related to the World Cup and sell a portion of it to investors for $4.2bn (£3.1bn). The move has triggered backlash from football bodies, including UEFA, and threats of a boycott from all 55 European member associations. FIFA, however, insists the sale will go ahead, prompting calls for an urgent review of its governance.

Carlos Cordeiro, one of Infantino’s senior advisers, resigned, saying he could not stand by while FIFA considered selling a stake in the World Cup. He called it a bad deal for FIFA’s member associations, for football, and for the long-term future of the game. Cordeiro had worked at FIFA since 2021 and also served as a senior adviser to a White House taskforce on this summer’s World Cup.

Burnham, a lifelong Everton fan, has previously stated that football belongs to the people who fill the stands, not to investors. He argued that the World Cup is not a product but the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never anyone’s to sell. Selling any piece of it, he said, would amount to selling out.