Gianni Infantino's plan for the World Cup keeps drawing reactions from across the globe, and they stretch well beyond the world of sporting bodies.
FIFA confirmed in an official statement on Tuesday that their president intends to sell stakes in the World Cup to private-sector investors, with Infantino taking on a role much like that of a commissioner in the new project.
UEFA reacted with fury to the announcement of a new commercial structure inside FIFA. Several political figures have now lined up alongside them.
New British prime minister Andy Burnham tore into the approach, insisting the World Cup cannot be reduced to a financial asset for private investors to pick over.
Burnham fired a clear message at FIFA and Infantino in a strongly worded statement: "Let me say it with complete frankness. Football does not belong to investors, it belongs to the fans who fill the stands and stand on the touchline week after week, in all weather conditions."
He added on his official "X" account: "The World Cup is not a commodity, it is the greatest competition in the world of sport, and it was never anyone's property to be sold. Dress it up however you like, but the moment you sell part of it, you have betrayed it. Football belongs to the fans, it always has, and it always will."