FIFA has dismissed chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, weeks after the senior executive publicly criticised Gianni Infantino's abandoned plan to open part of the organisation's commercial operations to private investors. FIFA confirmed that its working relationship with Lamour ended on 17 August, without giving a reason for his departure.
Staff at football's governing body were informed of the departure through an email from secretary general Mattias Grafstrom on Monday evening, describing the end of the relationship in neutral terms" The wording of that internal message struck a diplomatic tone, with Grafstrom thanking Lamour for his contributions and wishing him well, though the timing has fuelled speculation that the exit was not entirely voluntary.
Lamour, a Frenchman who previously worked for UEFA before joining FIFA as chief operating officer in November 2024, had been outspoken last month about Infantino's proposal to launch a new entity called FIFA Forward Enterprise, which would have managed commercial and ticketing rights across FIFA competitions, including the World Cup. He described the plan as "the project of one person" and argued that football's political leaders needed to ask themselves difficult questions about its direction. At the time, he acknowledged the risk to his own position directly, saying he would accept losing his job over the comments and would "sleep well" regardless of the outcome.
The wider plan, which reportedly involved selling around 21 percent of the new company to private investment groups, collapsed after fierce pushback from within football's governing structures. UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation all voiced opposition, with UEFA going as far as threatening to boycott the World Cup if the proposal went ahead. A senior adviser to Infantino, Carlos Cordeiro, resigned amid the fallout, and both UEFA and CONCACAF subsequently withdrew their backing for Infantino's bid for a fourth term as FIFA president at next year's congress, with several CONCACAF members, including Mexico, distancing themselves from him as well.
Lamour's removal adds to a period of unusually public turbulence at the top of FIFA, with Infantino facing mounting scrutiny both over the scrapped investment plan and over his standing ahead of the presidential vote in March. FIFA has not commented further on the circumstances surrounding Lamour's exit beyond confirming the date it took effect, leaving open questions about who might step into the chief operating officer role and how the fallout from the affair will shape the build-up to next year's leadership contest.
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