FIFA confirms COO departure after World Cup plan criticism

FIFA confirmed on Monday that its Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Lamour, has departed the organization. Lamour's exit comes weeks after he publicly criticized President Gianni Infantino's proposal to sell a stake in FIFA's tournament business, including the World Cup.

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FIFA thanks Kevin for his two years of service and wishes him the best of luck for the future.

"FIFA thanks Kevin for his two years of service and wishes him the best of luck for the future," a FIFA spokesperson stated. "No further comment will be made on the matter."

Lamour had been vocal in his opposition to the plan, calling it "the project of one person" and asserting that FIFA staff had been "deceived." He added, "Our 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."

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Our 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's comments followed the resignation of Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Infantino, who also protested the proposal, labeling it "a bad deal for football." The internal dissent emerged as FIFA faced significant opposition to its plan to create a $20 billion subsidiary to manage its tournaments and sell up to a 20% stake to external investors. FIFA eventually abandoned the proposal after widespread backlash.

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a bad deal for football