UK prime minister Andy Burnham says Gianni Infantino is not the right man to lead FIFA

Andy Burnham has said Gianni Infantino is “not the right man to lead FIFA” as pressure continues to grow over the governing body’s proposal to create a company linked to the sale of stakes in the World Cup to investors.

The UK prime minister described the plan as “an outrageous proposal” during a visit to Sheffield. His comments were reported by Sky News.

“Just the fact that the idea of creating a company for the World Cup has been put forward shows, in my view, that Infantino is not the right man to lead FIFA,” Burnham said.

Infantino and FIFA are facing opposition from football authorities in Europe, Asia and North America over the proposed creation of FIFA Forward Enterprise, a company FIFA intends to launch with a value of $20bn (£15.1bn).

The proposed investment structure would involve minority stakes that do not provide investors with control. However, the plan has been rejected by UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf).

UEFA has already said its national teams will boycott FIFA competitions “as long as these proposals remain in place”.

That position has added to the dispute surrounding FIFA Forward Enterprise and the wider questions raised by the proposed company. The European governing body has publicly opposed the initiative, while Concacaf has formally rejected FIFA’s proposal.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF), meanwhile, has announced that its executive committee will hold a meeting to assess the FIFA Forward Enterprise initiative.

The disagreement centres on FIFA’s intention to establish a company through which investors could acquire minority, non-controlling interests connected to the World Cup. FIFA’s plan, valued at $20bn, has been met with resistance from several continental football organisations.

Burnham’s intervention came as football authorities continued to challenge the proposal. Speaking in Sheffield, he directly questioned whether Infantino was the appropriate person to remain in charge of FIFA, linking that judgement to the decision to put forward the idea of a separate World Cup company.

The European, Asian and North American confederations have all rejected the proposed structure, while CAF is preparing to consider it through its executive committee.

FIFA has announced its intention to proceed with FIFA Forward Enterprise, but the plan has not secured the support of the federations that have publicly responded to it. UEFA’s threat to withdraw its national teams from FIFA competitions remains in place while the proposals continue to be considered.

The comments were made on Friday, 31 July 2026, and reported by FilGoal.