British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has intensified pressure on FIFA President Gianni Infantino, declaring that he is “the wrong man to lead the organisation” amid growing backlash over the governing body’s controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.
Speaking to reporters in Sheffield, Burnham criticised Infantino’s plan to introduce private investment into FIFA’s commercial operations, describing the proposal as unacceptable and questioning the FIFA president’s leadership.
The British leader’s remarks come as opposition to the FFE initiative continues to grow across the football world. UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have all rejected the proposal, raising concerns over governance, transparency and the long term future of the World Cup.
Burnham’s intervention follows the resignation of FIFA senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro, who stepped down in protest against the proposal, saying he could not support a plan that would allow a stake in the World Cup to be sold to private investors.
Despite mounting criticism, FIFA has insisted that it would retain full control of football governance and competitions under the proposed structure while using the additional revenue to expand development funding for its member associations.
