The internal clash at FIFA came just over two weeks after the public clash. Kevin Lamour, FIFA's Chief Operating Officer, left the organization on August 17, 2026, after he had sharply criticized Gianni Infantino for the project that would open up part of the business related to the World Cup to private investors. Officially, FIFA limited itself to announcing the end of the employment relationship, but according to what has been learned from authoritative sources, Lamour was actually dismissed immediately.
An epilogue that takes on a special meaning in light of what happened on July 31. Lamour, one of the organization's most important leaders and a man with long experience also in UEFA, had publicly clashed with Infantino, accusing him of having managed the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project without real involvement of the structure and the confederations.
Lamour had accused Infantino behind the FIFA Forward Enterprise project
The plan called for the creation of a new company to which a large part of the commercial and operational activities of FIFA competitions, including the men's and women's World Cups, would be transferred. The company was valued at around $20 billion and the hypothesis was to sell a stake of up to 20% to private investors, raising more than $4 billion.
This is the project summarized as an attempt to “privatize the World Cup”: not an outright sale of the World Cup, but the entry of private capital into the structure that would manage its gigantic commercial business. The proposal had however provoked a very strong reaction, especially from UEFA, AFC and Concacaf, which had opposed Infantino’s way of acting, the lack of consultation and the potential risks to the independence of football. UEFA had gone so far as to consider boycotting FIFA competitions. The pressure had forced Infantino to back down and cancel the FFE project.
That very day, Lamour had publicly made very serious accusations, speaking of a project that was essentially attributed to only one person and claiming that FIFA staff had been deceived. He had also denounced a climate characterized by “contempt and intimidation,” suggesting that he was even willing to lose his job because of these words.
Seventeen days later, his relationship with FIFA ended. And the Lamour affair thus turns the failed World Cup operation into something broader: an open clash over the way Gianni Infantino wields power at the helm of world football.
