FIFA ends cooperation with Kevin Lamour after criticism of Infantino, crisis of confidence deepens further
FIFA has ended its cooperation with chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, one of the highest-ranking officials in world football's governing body, just over two weeks after he publicly accused president Gianni Infantino of keeping employees out of key information about the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise project. FIFA confirmed on August 17 that its employment relationship with Lamour had ended, thanked him for approximately two years of work and said it would make no further comment on the case, meaning the official reason for his departure was not disclosed. The Associated Press, The Times and Le Monde described his departure as a dismissal following an open conflict with Infantino. At the end of July, Lamour claimed that employees had been misled because of a lack of transparency surrounding the project, which was intended to consolidate a large part of FIFA's commercial and operational activities in a new company and open the door to minority private investors. His departure is therefore no longer merely a staffing issue within the administration in Zürich, but a new element in a serious governance crisis that has engulfed FIFA ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Lamour said in advance that he was prepared to lose his job
Kevin Lamour, the French-Swiss football official who took over as chief operating officer in 2024, spoke publicly on July 31, after the dispute over FIFA Forward Enterprise developed from an internal project into a global conflict over the future of FIFA's most valuable competitions. In a statement to the Associated Press, he said that employees had been "misled" because of the way the president had handled preparations for the plan and said that staff deserved better than, as he put it, contempt and intimidation. He described the project as a one-man initiative and argued that it should not be continued. At the same time, he made it clear that he understood the possible consequences of speaking out, saying that he would accept even losing his job if that was the price for publicly expressing his position. Just over two weeks later, FIFA confirmed the end of their employment relationship, but without explaining whether it was a dismissal, a mutual separation or another formal mechanism.
Lamour's opposition was particularly significant because it did not come from an outside critic, but from a member of the highest administrative level who was familiar with internal processes. Le Monde reports that he was respected among some employees and that his public intervention was perceived as an unusually open act of dissent. In its brief confirmation of his departure, FIFA did not respond to the accusations he had made against Infantino. The sequence of events therefore further fuels the debate over how the organisation treats public opposition by senior officials to the president's projects.
What FIFA Forward Enterprise was supposed to be
At the heart of the conflict was FIFA Forward Enterprise, a project through which FIFA intended to consolidate the commercial rights and operational management of its competitions in a separate company. According to official FIFA documents, the structure would have included revenue and operations related to television rights, sponsorships, licensing, ticket sales, hospitality programmes and other commercial activities, together with the operational organisation of tournaments. FIFA claimed that such a model could increase the market value of its competitions and enable significantly greater investment in football development across all 211 national member associations. President Infantino presented the project as an opportunity to accelerate football development, while maintaining that FIFA would retain control and that nothing would be implemented without the necessary approvals. The organisation also stated that the new model could help increase total funding for football development to more than 10 billion dollars.
The most controversial part of the plan concerned the entry of outside investors. According to the Associated Press, FIFA was considering raising up to approximately 4.2 billion dollars by selling minority, non-controlling stakes in the new company, based on an initial valuation of about 20 billion dollars. Thrive Eternal, an investment venture linked to Joshua Kushner, was mentioned among potential investors, while FIFA was working with J.P. Morgan on the project. Critics warned that this was not merely about financing development, but about tying private capital over the long term to revenues from the World Cup and other FIFA competitions. FIFA responded that investors would hold only minority and non-controlling positions and that football governance would remain in the organisation's hands. Opponents, however, believed that the very sale of stakes in a business linked to the World Cup raised excessively large questions about long-term oversight and the interests of capital owners.
Resistance from UEFA, the AFC and Concacaf emerged almost immediately
The formal consultation phase began on July 28, but already that same week there was strong resistance from key continental confederations. The AFC announced that it had not been consulted before the public presentation and expressed disappointment that such an important issue had entered the public domain before being considered through the usual governance channels. Concacaf said that it had learned of the project through media reports and a subsequent statement, and expressed deep concern over the lack of due process. UEFA went even further, arguing that FIFA had no right to treat the World Cup as an asset that could be sold without broad consensus. The dispute thus quickly turned into one of the most serious institutional conflicts between FIFA and some of the continental confederations during Infantino's tenure.
The pressure peaked on July 30, when UEFA and its 55 national associations announced that they would not participate in FIFA competitions if the project continued. The Associated Press reported that the boycott threat covered the World Cup and other FIFA competitions, creating an immediate risk to the sporting and commercial credibility of the system. Concacaf rejected the proposal the same day, citing the lack of process, the short deadline and the absence of appropriate prior analysis by the relevant bodies. The AFC insisted that stakeholders must receive sufficient information and time before a decision. Such a reaction showed that the dispute could not be reduced merely to traditional political tensions between FIFA and UEFA.
Cordeiro's resignation opened a rift at the top of the organisation
The crisis escalated further when Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Gianni Infantino, former president of the U.S. Soccer Federation and former Goldman Sachs banker, resigned and publicly opposed the project. According to the Associated Press, he said that he had not participated in preparing the proposal and called it a bad deal for football. His departure showed that resistance was not coming only from confederations in political conflict with the FIFA president, but also from people within his advisory circle. Lamour's intervention followed almost simultaneously and further reinforced the impression that part of the administration believed the project had not gone through a sufficiently transparent and collective process.
On the evening of July 31, Infantino announced that the proposal would not proceed. In an official statement, he said that after considering the different opinions it had become clear that the project had created divisions that were no longer in the interest of the original objective. FIFA Forward Enterprise was thereby formally withdrawn before the end of the announced consultation phase. UEFA welcomed the withdrawal on August 1, but said that this did not resolve the problem and that accountability needed to be established for the way the project had been created and pushed towards approval. The AFC also welcomed the withdrawal and stressed that initiatives with global consequences must in future be discussed with all key stakeholders in a timely, transparent and meaningful manner.
FIFA admitted mistakes, critics demand an independent investigation
On August 5, following a meeting of senior officials in Rabat, FIFA acknowledged that mistakes had been made in the process surrounding FIFA Forward Enterprise. In an official statement, it said that there had been no intention to exclude the FIFA Council or the national associations, but admitted that the process should have been handled differently. The organisation also announced that an apology had been sent to Council members and all 211 associations, together with a promise that similar mistakes would not be repeated. At the same time, secretary general Mattias Grafström and the members of the governing board present once again expressed their full support for Infantino. FIFA announced a review of the events and a report that was expected to be presented to the FIFA Council.
It was precisely the plan for an internal review that triggered a new conflict. In a joint open letter dated August 10, the presidents of UEFA, the AFC and Concacaf, Aleksander Čeferin, Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and Victor Montagliani, together with the secretaries general of their organisations, said that the case could not be reduced to a communication failure. They argued that it amounted to a serious error of judgment and a fundamental breach of trust, and demanded that the review be conducted by a fully independent third party, without the involvement of FIFA's administration. The letter also called for the preservation of relevant documents and records. According to information available as of August 19, 2026, FIFA had not publicly announced that it accepted the demand for such an independent investigation.
Lamour's departure deepens questions about the culture of governance
In such an atmosphere, the end of cooperation with Lamour carries greater weight than it would in a calmer period. He was the highest-ranking operational official to publicly accuse the president of misleading employees, and several days later FIFA acknowledged that the process had shortcomings and should have been handled differently. This does not mean that FIFA accepted Lamour's personal accusations against Infantino; the organisation did not officially confirm them. However, the sequence of events raises the question of how much room senior officials have to challenge projects they consider problematic. FIFA's failure to provide a public explanation for Lamour's departure further strengthens such suspicions among critics of its leadership.
At the same time, the political picture within world football is not one-sided. Infantino still has the support of some national and regional football structures, and after the meeting in Rabat FIFA emphasised that its leadership remained united. The Associated Press reported that the leaders of six Arab football associations expressed full support and confidence in Infantino after the crisis erupted, while some other national federations withdrew previously declared support. The conflict is therefore increasingly turning into a battle for a political majority among the 211 members, rather than merely a dispute over one failed investment proposal.
The 2027 presidential election no longer looks like a formality
Gianni Infantino, who has led FIFA since 2016, confirmed in May at the 76th Congress in Vancouver that he would stand for president again. FIFA officially decided that the electoral 77th Congress would be held on March 18, 2027, in Rabat, Morocco. Before the dispute erupted, his re-election appeared highly likely, and the Associated Press reported that after the 2026 World Cup he had letters of support from approximately 200 of the 211 national associations. Following the withdrawal of the project, Cordeiro's resignation, Lamour's public rebellion and departure, and the open conflict with three major confederations, that political capital can no longer be taken for granted. The AP reports that the deadline for submitting presidential candidacies is November 18, 2026, leaving opponents several months to potentially rally around an alternative candidacy.
The key question therefore is not only whether Infantino will retain a majority, but also whether the way in which FIFA Forward Enterprise was created will be clarified before the election. UEFA, the AFC and Concacaf jointly insist on an independent investigation, while FIFA has so far announced its own review and a report to the Council. If those two positions remain incompatible, the institutional conflict could continue all the way to the electoral Congress. Lamour's departure also increases pressure on FIFA to explain the criteria according to which it ended cooperation with an official who had publicly warned of a lack of transparency.
The debate is broader than one failed investment project
The dispute over FIFA Forward Enterprise raised the question of how an organisation that governs the world's most popular sport should balance commercial growth with institutional accountability. FIFA argues that a stronger commercial model can generate more money for infrastructure, women's football, youth programmes and associations with limited local revenues. Critics do not dispute the need for development funding, but believe that existing resources make it possible to increase investment without selling stakes linked to the most valuable competitions. After the project was withdrawn, UEFA proposed that development should be additionally financed through the existing FIFA Forward programme. The debate thus moved beyond the financial model and became a debate about ownership, control, decision-making processes and accountability in international sport.
For FIFA, several separate events have now merged into one political story: a project valued at around 20 billion dollars withdrawn after global resistance, the resignation of a senior presidential adviser, the public rebellion of the chief operating officer, an official admission of procedural mistakes, a demand by three confederations for an independent investigation and, finally, Lamour's departure without a publicly stated reason. Infantino remains president, is continuing his candidacy for 2027 and still has significant support within FIFA's global membership. But after the events of July and August, his candidacy is no longer taking place in an atmosphere of almost complete political certainty. The crisis surrounding FIFA Forward Enterprise has become a test not only of his personal position, but also of how willing FIFA will be to independently examine its own decision-making process and restore the trust of part of world football.
Sources:
- FIFA – official explanation of the objectives and structure of the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise and the announced development financing (link)
- FIFA – statement by Gianni Infantino on the withdrawal of the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal on July 31, 2026 (link)
- FIFA – statement following the leadership meeting in Rabat, acknowledgement of mistakes and announcement of an internal review (link)
- FIFA – confirmation of Gianni Infantino's candidacy for the 2027 election and information on the 77th Congress in Rabat (link)
- Associated Press – report on Kevin Lamour's departure, his earlier accusations and the political context of the crisis (link)
- Associated Press – report on Lamour's public intervention against the project and the resignation of Carlos Cordeiro (link)
- UEFA – official reaction to the withdrawal of the project and demand for accountability (link)
- UEFA, AFC and Concacaf – joint open letter calling for a fully independent review of the entire case (link)
- AFC – official statement on the lack of prior consultation and the need for a transparent process (link)
- Concacaf – official statement expressing concern over the lack of due process surrounding the project (link)