Britain’s new prime minister Andy Burnham has launched a fierce public attack on FIFA president Gianni Infantino over a controversial plan to sell shares in the World Cup to private investors, insisting the tournament “is not a commodity” and “does not belong to anyone to be sold”.
FIFA confirmed in an official statement on Tuesday that Infantino intends to carve out commercial rights to the World Cup into a share-based structure and offer stakes to investors from the private sector. Under the proposal, Infantino would take on a role comparable to a commissioner overseeing this new vehicle.
The move has already provoked strong opposition within football. UEFA has expressed anger at the prospect of a new commercial structure being created inside FIFA, arguing it could fundamentally alter how the sport’s biggest event is run and who profits from it.
Political backlash grows
Reaction has quickly spread beyond football’s governing bodies, with leading political figures now lining up to criticise the scheme.
Burnham, who recently took office as prime minister, condemned the proposal in uncompromising terms, making clear he believes any financial restructuring of the World Cup risks undermining the tournament’s connection with its global fanbase.
He stressed that the World Cup cannot be reduced to an asset class open to private equity or other commercial investors, warning that such a shift would betray what the competition represents to supporters around the world.
In a strongly worded statement addressed to FIFA and Infantino, Burnham said: “دعوني اقولها بصراحة تامة. كرة القدم ليست ملكا للمستثمرين، بل هي ملك للجماهير التي تملا المدرجات وتقف على خط التماس اسبوعا بعد اسبوع، في جميع الاحوال الجوية”.
World Cup ‘not a commodity’
Burnham then amplified his criticism in a post on his official account on X, doubling down on his opposition to any partial sell-off of the tournament’s rights.
He wrote: “كاس العالم ليست سلعة، بل هو اعظم منافسة في عالم الرياضة، ولم يكن يوما ملكا لاحد ليباع. زينوه كما تشاوون، ولكن بمجرد بيع جزء منه، تكونون قد خنتموه. كرة القدم ملك للجماهير، لطالما كانت كذلك، وستبقى كذلك دايما”.
By framing the World Cup as the “greatest competition in world sport” and accusing FIFA of “betrayal” if it proceeds with selling portions of it, Burnham positioned himself as a defender of supporters’ interests against what he portrays as financial overreach at the top of the game.
Infantino under mounting scrutiny
Infantino’s World Cup project has been the subject of persistent controversy in recent years, with critics frequently accusing FIFA of prioritising commercial gain over sporting integrity and fan access.
The latest proposal to treat World Cup rights as tradable shares adds a fresh layer to that debate, drawing resistance not only from UEFA but now from senior government figures. Burnham’s intervention signals that any attempt to reshape the World Cup’s ownership and revenue streams will be closely scrutinised well beyond the walls of FIFA’s own headquarters.
While FIFA has presented the new structure as a way to attract investment and develop the competition, opponents argue it risks entrenching commercial interests and weakening the sense that the World Cup is a shared global event owned symbolically by supporters rather than financially by investors.
For now, Infantino’s plan remains at a proposal stage, but the force of Burnham’s language – and the growing chorus of resistance in both sporting and political circles – underlines the scale of the battle FIFA faces if it pushes ahead with selling stakes in football’s most prestigious tournament.
