• Cordeiro, senior adviser to Infantino Resigns
British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham has said Gianni Infantino was “the wrong man” to lead Fifa after a senior adviser to the president resigned and a third confederation opposed his plan to sell stakes in competitions to private investors.
Burnham was critical of the proposal when it was first announced, and told reporters yesterday: “This was an outrageous suggestion.
“The idea that it could even be brought forward shows that, in my view, [he] is the wrong man to lead the organisation.”
Burnham was speaking hours after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said it “stands in solidarity” with counterparts in Europe and North, Central America and the Caribbean.
The AFC added Infantino’s plan could not “realistically achieve the necessary broad consensus and unity required to move forward”.
“The Fifa World Cup is the pinnacle of global football and derives its strength from the participation of all Confederations and the world’s leading football nations,” it said.
“Any proposal that risks undermining the unity and universal character of the competition must be reconsidered.”
Shortly after that statement, Carlos Cordeiro – Infantino’s senior adviser on global strategy and governance – resigned, saying the proposal was “a bad deal for football” and would “mortgage football’s future”.
The AFC’s statement means Infantino’s plans are unlikely to be approved by Fifa members if put to a vote.
Infantino had indicated the proposals would need a straight majority to go through – meaning 106 of its 211 members needed to vote in favour for the proposal.
Uefa – the body that governs European football – has 55 votes. Concacaf, which oversees football in North, Central America and the Caribbean, has 35 and Asia has 46.
Should all member associations back the stance of their governing body, that would mean 136 nations are against Infantino’s plan.
Meanwhile, Carlos Cordeiro, senior adviser to Infantino, has resigned following the proposal by football’s governing body to sell a stake in its World Cups and events.
Cordeiro said yesterday that he is stepping down with immediate effect in protest at proposals to seek private investment in a newly formed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) venture, calling the plan “a bad deal for football”.