FIFA fires senior executive who risked his job to criticize Gianni Infantino
FIFA fires senior executive who risked his job to criticize Gianni Infantino
Sahil KurupMon, August 17, 2026 at 10:48 PM UTC
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Gianni Infantino was forced to scrap his plans to sell stakes in the World Cup -Credit:Chris Brunskill/Fantasista, Getty Images
FIFA has parted ways with Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour, weeks after he publicly criticized President Gianni Infantino's now-abandoned plan to sell a stake in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to outside investors, the organization confirmed Monday.
"FIFA can confirm that the working relationship between FIFA and Kevin Lamour as FIFA's Chief Operating Officer has ended on 17 August 2026," a FIFA spokesperson said. "FIFA thanks Kevin for his two years of service and wishes him the best of luck for the future. No further comment will be made on the matter." FIFA has not commented on the specific terms of Lamour's departure.
FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom informed staff and council members of the move in a letter obtained by Sky News, describing the split as a mutual decision reached "after careful consideration and with great respect for Kevin, both personally and professionally." It comes as Infantino is rapidly losing support to remain FIFA president.
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The letter credited Lamour with overseeing "a period of significant change" during his tenure, including improved stakeholder relationships and the delivery of several major joint projects since joining FIFA in November 2024.
Lamour's exit follows public comments he made in late July, in which he said FIFA staff had been "deceived" by Infantino's lack of transparency regarding the proposed sale, which would have offered outside investors a stake in a new entity overseeing FIFA's major tournaments.
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"It is the project of one person," Lamour told the at the time. "Not only must this project not go ahead... but the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions."
FIFA President Gianni Infantino could be ousted from his position as FIFA President before his term is up -Credit:Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images
He added that FIFA's "mission... is to serve football. Not to serve the personal interests of a person who, unfortunately, believes he embodies FIFA when he is supposed to be at its service."
Lamour said at the time that he understood his comments could cost him his job. "If that means I lose my job, then so be it," he said. "I will understand and respect that decision. At least I'll sleep well tonight."
His remarks came just hours after Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Infantino, resigned in protest over the same proposal, calling it "a bad deal for football."
UEFA hit out at Infantino's World Cup plans -Credit:Getty
The now-scrapped plan had sought to sell roughly 20% of a newly created FIFA subsidiary valued at $20 billion, with a $4.2 billion stake set to go to an investor group led by Thrive Eternal, an investment fund run by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner.
The proposal triggered significant backlash from football's governing bodies, including UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation, all of which called for Infantino to resign, while UEFA threatened to boycott future FIFA competitions entirely. FIFA ultimately withdrew the proposal following the outcry.
Lamour, 45, previously served as UEFA's deputy general secretary after joining the organization in 2007, and had long been part of Infantino's inner circle, having campaigned for his surprise election as FIFA president in 2016.
Despite that history, Lamour was reportedly not invited to attend a crisis meeting of FIFA's senior leadership team in Morocco earlier this month, which led to a joint apology from Infantino and Grafstrom over the failed proposal.
Source: “AOL Money”
