World football governing body FIFA has dismissed Kevin Lamour, its former Chief Operating Officer, less than three weeks after he strongly criticised its president, Gianni Infantino, over a plan to sell stakes in FIFA’s commercial operations to private investors.
FIFA announced that its working relationship with Lamour ended on August 17, 2026, thanking him for the two years he spent with the organisation and wishing him success in the future.
FIFA staff were informed of the decision through a message sent by Secretary General Mattias Grafström on Monday evening. He said the two sides had mutually agreed to part ways.
Lamour Criticised FIFA Leadership
Last month, Lamour criticised the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project, describing it as a “one-person project” and saying it was time for football leaders to ask the right questions and make the right decisions.
He said FIFA’s leadership had also been misled about the project, stressing that FIFA employees’ responsibility was to serve football.
Lamour also criticised Infantino’s leadership style, saying the president should bring people together and inspire them, but that developments within FIFA were showing the opposite.
He had also said that, although he had a duty to remain loyal to his employer, he also had a responsibility to uphold the values he believed in and support his colleagues. He added that if doing so cost him his job, he was prepared to accept the consequences.
FIFA Forward Enterprise Project Faces Opposition
Lamour joined FIFA in November 2024 after serving as UEFA’s Deputy Secretary General.
His dismissal comes as Infantino continues to face pressure over the FFE project, which was intended to oversee the commercialisation and ticket sales of all FIFA competitions, including the World Cup.
The project was suspended after a plan to sell a 21% stake in the company to private investors was opposed by several football confederations, including UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC.
Following the suspension of the project, UEFA and CONCACAF confirmed that they would not support Gianni Infantino in his bid for a fourth term in the FIFA presidential election scheduled for March 2027.
