FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour Departs Following Internal Clashes Over Scrapped $20 Billion World Cup Commercial Plan

ZURICH — World football’s governing body, FIFA, has officially confirmed the departure of its Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Lamour, concluding the tenure of a senior executive who served as an instrumental strategist behind President Gianni Infantino’s rise to power. The exit follows intense internal turbulence sparked by a contentious and subsequently withdrawn proposal to sell a significant private equity stake in the commercial rights of future FIFA World Cups and major international tournaments. In a formal statement, a FIFA spokesperson confirmed the conclusion of the executive relationship, stating: “FIFA can confirm that the working relationship between FIFA and Kevin Lamour as FIFA's Chief Operating Officer has ended. FIFA thanks Kevin for his service and wishes him the best of luck for the future. No further comment will be made on the matter.” Lamour, a respected French sports administrator who previously held senior management roles at UEFA before joining FIFA's top executive tier in November 2024, had openly voiced fierce opposition to Infantino's commercial project, titled ‘FIFA Forward Enterprise’. The ambitious yet controversial scheme envisioned creating a dedicated commercial subsidiary valued at $20 billion, with up to a 20 percent equity stake sold to private equity investors to raise an immediate $4.2 billion in external cash. In public statements made prior to his departure, Lamour described the initiative as having been developed without transparent…