British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Friday called on FIFA President Gianni Infantino to step down, becoming the first leader of a major country to demand his resignation over a proposal to sell commercial rights to the World Cup. Burnham called the plan "an outrageous suggestion" and said Infantino is "the wrong man" to lead world football's governing body.
The dispute centres on FIFA's plan to create a commercial subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise, and sell minority stakes to investors for an estimated $4.2 billion. Thrive Eternal, founded by Joshua Kushner, is expected to lead the investor group. UEFA unanimously voted to boycott World Cups if the plan proceeds, while Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation have joined the opposition.
Senior FIFA adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned on Thursday, calling it "a bad deal for football". FIFA has vowed to press ahead, with member associations given until 19 September to approve the proposal requiring a simple majority of 106 of 211 votes.