UK prime minister demands FIFA chief resign over $4.2bn World Cup stake sale
The UK prime minister has become the first major national leader to demand the FIFA president’s resignation over a controversial $4.2bn plan to sell World Cup commercial rights, escalating a governance crisis that threatens a European boycott and major market disruption.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called for FIFA President Gianni Infantino to resign, marking the first time a major national leader has demanded the football governing body's chief step down. Speaking during a visit to a community centre in Sheffield on Friday, Burnham condemned the proposal as an outrageous suggestion.
Under the contested plan, FIFA intends to create a new investment vehicle holding commercial rights related to the World Cup. The organisation aims to sell a portion of this entity to private investors for $4.2bn (£3.1bn).
This financial restructuring has triggered severe pushback from European football bodies and sparked threats of a boycott from all 55 European nations. For private equity firms and media investors, a European boycott would severely diminish the commercial value of the very asset FIFA is attempting to monetize.
The governance crisis is also fracturing FIFA internally, raising concerns about the stability of the organisation's leadership. Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Infantino since 2021 and a senior adviser to the White House taskforce for the tournament, resigned on Thursday in protest.
Cordeiro said in his resignation statement: “I cannot stand by while Fifa considers selling a stake in the World Cup.” He added that he had no involvement in the proposal and opposed it unequivocally, calling it a bad deal for member associations and the long-term future of the game.
When informed that Infantino was pressing forward with the sale despite the furious backlash, the prime minister reacted with disbelief. He stated that his view was strengthening and that the proposal proved Infantino was the wrong man to lead the organisation.
Burnham, a lifelong Everton fan, drew a strict line between sporting heritage and financial engineering. He argued that “football does not belong to investors” and warned that “once you have sold a piece of it, you have sold out.”
The proposed asset sale highlights a growing tension between traditional sporting models and aggressive financialisation. If European nations follow through on their boycott, the resulting market disruption could force a complete collapse of the $4.2bn valuation.
