LONDON: FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour left the organization Aug. 17, weeks after criticizing President Gianni Infantino’s commercial rights plan, adding to mounting pressure on his leadership ahead of next year’s election.
FIFA confirmed Lamour’s departure but did not give a reason, saying it thanked him for his service and wished him well.
Lamour joined FIFA’s senior leadership team in November 2024 after previously working with the group that backed Infantino’s successful campaign for the presidency in 2016.
Lamour’s departure came after he publicly challenged a proposal to create a $20 billion FIFA subsidiary and sell as much as a 20% stake to private equity investors. The plan was expected to raise about $4.2 billion.
Lamour said FIFA staff had been misled about the proposal and described it as the initiative of a single person.
His criticism followed the resignation of Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Infantino, who stepped down in protest and called the proposal a “bad deal for football.”
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Infantino withdrew the plan later that day, but opposition to the proposal has continued.
The dispute has added to uncertainty surrounding Infantino’s campaign for a fourth term as FIFA president in March 2027.
UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF have called for an independent review of Infantino’s conduct. The three confederations represent influential blocs within world soccer, although Infantino continues to have support from African and South American football bodies.
The Scottish Football Association has also said it will not support Infantino’s reelection. Chief Executive Ian Maxwell told the BBC that Scotland would not back him.
The growing opposition comes as questions persist over whether Infantino is eligible to seek another term.
FIFA presidents are limited to three terms, but Infantino argued in 2022 that his first period in office, from 2016 to 2019, should not count because he completed an interrupted mandate.
He was first elected in 2016 after Sepp Blatter resigned amid a corruption scandal and was reelected without opposition in 2019 and 2023.
FairSquare, a human rights organization focused on sport, has asked FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee to rule on Infantino’s eligibility for another term.
FairSquare Director Nicholas McGeehan said the complaint alleged a clear breach of FIFA’s rules and warned that allowing an exception could undermine the purpose of presidential term limits.
Miguel Maduro, a former head of FIFA’s independent Governance and Review Committee who helped prepare the complaint, also argued that the three-term limit was a key part of FIFA’s 2016 reforms.
He said allowing an exception would risk turning FIFA’s rules into obstacles that could simply be bypassed.
UEFA, the AFC and CONCACAF last week called for an independent review of Infantino’s conduct.
People familiar with the situation said the three confederations viewed the move as a possible opportunity for Infantino to leave office voluntarily.
FIFA did not respond to a request for comment on the eligibility complaint.
The controversy has also reached the Olympic movement. FairSquare previously complained to the International Olympic Committee over Infantino’s alleged breach of political-neutrality rules following his support for U.S. President Donald Trump. The IOC rejected the complaint last month.
Infantino has served as an IOC member since 2020.
With a senior FIFA executive now gone after publicly challenging one of Infantino’s major commercial initiatives, and influential soccer bodies calling for greater scrutiny, the pressure surrounding the FIFA president is likely to remain a central issue ahead of next year’s election.
