FIFA Sacks COO Lamour After Infantino FFE Criticism
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- Kevin Lamour was sacked as FIFA's chief operating officer on 17 August 2026, less than three weeks after publicly criticising president Gianni Infantino's aborted plan to sell stakes in competitions to private investors.
- Lamour had called the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme 'the project of one person,' said FIFA's administration was 'deceived' about it, and warned 'a president must bring people together, unite them, and inspire them' — adding he was willing to lose his job over speaking out.
- FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom informed staff by email that Lamour and FIFA had 'agreed to part ways'; Lamour was notably not invited to an earlier Morocco meeting where senior executives publicly backed Infantino.
- The FFE plan was aborted after Infantino's proposal to sell 21% of the new company to private investors drew public opposition from UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation, with UEFA threatening a World Cup boycott.
- UEFA and CONCACAF have since withdrawn support for Infantino's fourth-term bid at the March 2026 FIFA Congress, though the confederations of Africa, South America and Oceania back him; the Scottish FA became the latest national body to withdraw support, joining England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
- Governance charity FairSquare has written to FIFA demanding Infantino not be allowed to stand for re-election, while Lamour — who joined FIFA in November 2024 after serving as deputy general secretary at UEFA — has been approached for comment.
Why it matters: The sacking confirms FIFA moved against its most senior administrator for publicly breaking ranks, hardening the governance crisis already visible in three confederations withdrawing support for Infantino's March 2026 re-election. With UEFA, CONCACAF, the Scottish FA, and four British/Irish associations now opposed, Infantino's path to a fourth term rests on the African, South American, and Oceanian votes that have already publicly backed him.
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