FIFA Fires Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour After He Criticized Infantino's Plan

ZURICH, Switzerland —

FIFA has fired its chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, less than three weeks after he publicly criticized President Gianni Infantino's now abandoned plan to sell a stake in the organization's tournament business, according to BBC Sport and Yahoo Sports.

A FIFA spokesperson said in a statement that "the working relationship between FIFA and Kevin Lamour as FIFA's Chief Operating Officer has ended on 17 August 2026," and thanked him for two years of service, according to Channel NewsAsia. The spokesperson added that no further comment would be made. FIFA's secretary general, Mattias Grafstrom, told staff in an email that the organization and Lamour had "agreed to part ways," according to BBC Sport. In a letter to FIFA's Council seen by BBC Sport, Grafstrom wrote that the decision was made "with great respect for Kevin, both personally and professionally."

A Blunt Public Warning

Last month, Lamour had criticized Infantino's plan directly, calling it "the project of one person" and saying FIFA's own administration had been "deceived" about it, according to BBC Sport. "Our mission," he said at the time, "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," according to Channel NewsAsia. Lamour said he understood the risk. "If that means I lose my job, then so be it," he said, according to BBC Sport. "I will understand and respect that decision. At least I'll sleep well tonight."

The plan Lamour objected to, known as FIFA Forward Enterprise, would have created a new company worth roughly $20 billion to manage commercial and ticketing rights across FIFA's competitions, including the World Cup, and sell a stake of around a fifth to outside investors, according to Channel NewsAsia and BBC Sport. FIFA scrapped the proposal after UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation publicly opposed it, with UEFA threatening to boycott the World Cup if it went ahead, according to BBC Sport. A senior adviser to Infantino, Carlos Cordeiro, resigned over the plan, calling it "a bad deal for football," according to Channel NewsAsia.

Mounting Pressure Over a Fourth Term

UEFA and CONCACAF have since withdrawn their backing for Infantino's bid for a fourth presidential term at next year's FIFA Congress in Morocco, though some CONCACAF members, including Mexico, have broken with their confederation to support him, according to BBC Sport. The confederations representing Africa, South America and Oceania still back Infantino. On Monday, the Scottish Football Association became the latest national body to withdraw support, joining England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, according to BBC Sport.

Separately, the human rights group FairSquare has written to FIFA's Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee arguing Infantino is ineligible to run again because he has already served three terms, according to Al Jazeera. FairSquare's director, Nicholas McGeehan, told Reuters that FIFA cannot exempt Infantino's first partial term from the count. "The rules state clearly that three presidential terms is the maximum allowed," he said.