British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Sunday that FIFA President Gianni Infantino is no longer suitable to head world football's governing body, following the backlash over a scrapped proposal to sell World Cup commercial stakes to private investors.

Speaking on the fallout surrounding the controversial plan, Burnham criticized the FIFA leader's leadership, saying, “I do not believe that he is the right man to lead football forward on the world stage."

He further condemned the proposed scheme, adding, “The plan that was put forward was offensive to many people, football people, around the world, and it can’t be the case that we just move on and forget that, it wasn’t acceptable."

The Prime Minister's remarks build upon a growing wave of opposition from major regional football bodies.

On Saturday, European football governing body UEFA announced it had lost confidence in FIFA’s leadership, signaling a potential push to challenge Infantino’s presidency.

Concurrently, CONCACAF, the governing body for North, Central American, and Caribbean football, voiced strong criticism, stating that FIFA leadership had “stopped putting football first.”

The widespread pushback forced Infantino to abandon his proposal, which sought to transfer World Cup revenue generation to a commercial subsidiary tasked with overseeing its premier tournaments.

His strategy collapsed after UEFA’s 55 member nations reached a consensus on Thursday to boycott the World Cup alongside all other FIFA-organized competitions. The Asian Football Confederation also joined UEFA and CONCACAF in opposing the initiative.

Despite Infantino's retreat, UEFA affirmed its commitment to working alongside fellow confederations to formulate measures preventing similar proposals in the future, declaring that “no option should be off the table.”

Although Infantino retains backing from select quarters, including 2022 World Cup host nation Qatar, Burnham's sharp critique underlines the deep division triggered by the attempted commercial overhaul.

The governance crisis arrives ahead of the upcoming FIFA presidential election scheduled for March in Rabat, Morocco, with candidates required to submit their official entries by November 18, four months prior to the vote.

Source: AP