FIFA has ended its partnership with director general of operations Kevin Lamour with immediate effect, amid reports that his departure followed criticism of president Gianni Infantino and an abandoned plan to open some World Cup commercial activities to private investors.
The governing body confirmed on Monday that Lamour’s tenure had ended on 17 August 2026, but declined to say whether he had been dismissed. The Times and Sky Sports reported that Lamour had been sacked, while Sky said FIFA staff were informed of his departure on Monday evening.
“FIFA confirms that its partnership with Kevin Lamour, its director general of operations, ended on 17 August 2026. FIFA thanks Kevin for his two years of service and wishes him all the best for the future,” the organisation said in a statement.
Lamour had held the operations role since November 2024. His departure came after he publicly criticised the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project in comments to the Associated Press at the end of July.
The scheme, which has now been abandoned, was intended to allow private investors to participate in some of the commercial activities connected to the World Cup. Lamour said FIFA employees had been “misled” by Infantino about the project.
“This is one person’s project. Not only should this project not go ahead, but it is time for football leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions,” he said.
Lamour acknowledged that speaking out could cost him his job.
“If that means I lose my job, so be it. I will understand and respect that decision. In any case, I will sleep well tonight,” he said.
FIFA’s decision makes Lamour the second senior figure at the organisation to leave amid the dispute over FFE. Senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned in July after opposing the proposal.
The organisation has not publicly confirmed that Lamour’s criticism was the reason for the termination, and its statement did not refer to the FFE project or to his comments about Infantino.
The proposed investment model had been the subject of internal opposition before being dropped. Lamour’s remarks represented a direct challenge to the way the project had been presented to FIFA staff and to its leadership under Infantino.
While the circumstances of the departure remain officially unclear, reports from England have linked it to Lamour’s criticism of the FIFA president and his opposition to the commercial plan. His exit leaves FIFA without the executive who had been responsible for its operations since late 2024.
