Gianni Infantino has sparked fury over a controversial plan to seek private investment in a company to run the World Cup.
Andy Burnham has taken a huge swipe at Gianni Infantino (Image: Getty)
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said FIFA boss Gianni Infantino is “the wrong man to lead the organisation” in the wake of the “outrageous” plan to seek private investment in a company to run the World Cup.
He has called for Infantino to quit as the head of football’s international ruling body in the wake of the controversial plan to sell a stake in the World Cup. FIFA’s plans to sell a minority stake in a new company, FIFA Forward Enterprise, to private investors first emerged in media reports on Tuesday.
FIFA confirmed that Thrive Eternal – a company founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of United States President Donald Trump‘s son-in-law Jared Kushner – had been earmarked as the leader of the investor group.
In a fierce reaction to the move, European nations under UEFA, comprising 55 member associations, threatened to boycott Fifa competitions until the project is scrapped.
Fifa plans to sell a minority stake in a new company, Fifa Forward Enterprise, to private investors (Image: Getty)
The plan was also rejected by Asian confederations and the one representing nations from North and Central America.
Mr Burnham, a keen 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 the FIFA is the wrong man to lead the organisation.”