FIFA COO Departs After Criticizing Infantino's World Cup Rights Plan

FIFA's Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Lamour, has departed the organization, the governing body announced Monday. His exit follows weeks after he publicly voiced strong criticism of FIFA President Gianni Infantino's proposal to sell a stake in the commercial rights of the World Cup and other tournaments.

“

FIFA can confirm that the working relationship between FIFA and Kevin Lamour as FIFA’s Chief Operating Officer has ended on 17 August 2026.

Lamour, who joined FIFA's senior leadership in November 2024 and was part of the inner circle that supported Infantino's 2016 election, stated that FIFA staff had been "deceived" by the plan. He described it as "the project of one person" and asserted that FIFA's mission is to serve football, not the personal interests of an individual.

His comments echoed those of Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Infantino, who resigned in protest of the proposal, calling it "a bad deal for football." Infantino later withdrew the plan, which aimed to create a $20 billion subsidiary and sell up to a 20% stake to private equity investors for $4.2 billion.

“

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.

The controversy surrounding the proposal continues to impact Infantino's bid for a fourth term as president. While previously appearing to be a formality, his re-election now faces significant opposition from powerful European confederation UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and CONCACAF. He retains support from the African and South American confederations.

“

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.

Adding to the pressure, the human rights in sport organization FairSquare has urged FIFA's Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC) to rule Infantino ineligible for another term. FIFA presidents are typically limited to three terms, though Infantino successfully argued his first term should not count towards this limit.

“

a bad deal for football