Andy Burnham shows true colours with two-word Gianni Infantino comment | Football | Sport

Andy Burnham has proven that he is willing to call out influential worldwide figures by describing Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell a stake in the World Cup as an “outrageous suggestion”. Burnham demanded Infantino step down as head of football’s international governing body following the controversial proposal.

The Prime Minister declared Mr Infantino was “the wrong man to lead the organisation” amid a global backlash against the investment scheme. FIFA’s proposals to sell a minority stake in a new company, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), to private investors first surfaced in media reports on Tuesday.

FIFA subsequently confirmed that Thrive Eternal – a company established by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, the US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law – had been identified as the lead investor.

The scheme has been rejected by the European and Asian confederations, as well as the body representing nations from North and Central America, with European nations threatening to boycott FIFA competitions unless the project is abandoned, which Infantino did in the late hours of Friday night.

When asked whether Mr Infantino should resign, Mr Burnham, a passionate Everton supporter, told reporters during a visit to Sheffield: “This was an outrageous suggestion.

“The idea that it could even be brought forward shows that, in my view, that [Infantino] is the wrong man to lead the organisation.”

Mr Infantino’s senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, announced his resignation on Friday morning, with the investment banker describing the FFE proposal “a bad deal for football”.

Criticism also emerged from FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, who stated that staff had been “deceived” by Mr Infantino’s lack of transparency in devising the scheme and “deserve better than contempt and intimidation”.

Critics of the proposals raised concerns that private investors would pursue increasingly large and frequent tournaments to maximise their returns.

FIFA is seeking an independent agency to examine expanding the men’s World Cup from 48 to 64 teams starting with the next tournament in 2030, according to documents obtained by the Press Association.

The views of supporters would not be central to the work, the document suggested.

The FIFA brief stated: “Consumer or fan evidence may be used where it helps, but it should not become the centre of the study that remains a B2B (business-to-business) focused study.

“The analysis should enable a clear strategic judgment: does a 64-team format expand global relevance and participation in a way that strengthens the football economy, or do dilution, calendar congestion, execution complexity and saturation undermine the proposition?”

A boycott of FIFA tournaments by the European governing body UEFA would see England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland withdrawing from participation, alongside other European nations.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy supported the boycott, declaring: “Football belongs to the fans, not billionaire investors. Enough is enough. It’s time to take a stand to protect our game.”

Burnham has also supported UEFA’s position on the matter.