Kevin Lamour has been fired as chief operating officer of world soccer’s governing body FIFA just weeks after he publicly criticised ill-fated plans by president Gianni Infantino to sell a stake in the organization’s commercial business to private investors.
In the latest twist in a tumultuous period for the body, FIFA staff were informed of the news in an email by its secretary general Mattias Grafstrom on Monday evening, who told them that the organisation and Lamour had “agreed to part ways.”
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In a brief statement, a FIFA spokesperson said: “FIFA can confirm that the working relationship between FIFA and Kevin Lamour as FIFA’S chief operating officer has ended on 17 August 2026. 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.”
Lamour departs less than two years after joining from European soccer’s governing body UEFA, where he previously served as deputy general secretary.
Last month, Lamour came out strongly against Infantino’s FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, describing the controversial, and now aborted, plan as “the project of one person”, and said: “The time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions.”
He added FIFA’s own administration was “deceived” about the now abandoned project and said the president “believes he embodies FIFA when he is supposed to be at its service.”
Lamour had also made clear that he was prepared to lose his job as a consequence of opposing the plan, which was shelved hours after he spoke out on 31 July.
He stated: “If that means I lose my job, then so be it. I will understand and respect that decision. At least I'll sleep well tonight.”
In the statement that appears to have led to his departure, Lamour also said his colleagues “deserve better than contempt and intimidation”. He added: “My feeling is that we all want to be proud to work for Fifa, and today, unfortunately, it seems that is no longer the case for many of us.”
After Infantino shared his FFE plans, one of his senior advisers, Carlos Cordeiro, also resigned in protest at his proposals.
Lamour’s departure is significant due to his longstanding working relationship with Infantino, with whom he also worked at UEFA. Infantino continues to be under huge pressure after the failure of his scheme, with efforts to force his removal continuing.
Last week, UEFA jointly issued an open letter with its counterparts in Asia (AFC) and North America and the Caribbean (Concacaf) again excoriating Infantino over his FFE proposal from late last month and effectively calling for his resignation.
This came after all three bodies had already previously issued strong statements – including calling for a World Cup boycott – on the matter, but this represented the first joint communication.
Earlier this month, Infantino received the backing of senior executives in a meeting in Morocco, but it is understood that Lamour, as well as FIFA council members and member association representatives, were not present.
The FFE proposals would have seen Switzerland-based FIFA sell off 21% of FFE – which would have taken the form of a commercial and events-focused subsidiary – to private investors.
Capital holding company Thrive Eternal – led by the brother of US president Donald Trump's son-in-law – would have likely led the FFE investor group, meanwhile.
The international body's plans would have involved raising $4.2 billion through selling 21% of FFE – assuming a total valuation of $20 billion in the venture.
FIFA said this would go towards creating a new funding mechanism for its 211 member associations, called the FIFA Fast-Forward Programme (FFFP).
