Criticizing Infantino, a senior FIFA official was immediately fired.

FIFA made a surprise decision to sack Kevin Lamour after he publicly denounced the controversial business plan of Chairman Gianni Infantino.

FIFA has decided to end its partnership with Kevin Lamour, The organization's chief operating officer, less than three weeks after he publicly voiced opposition to President Gianni Infantino's contentious commercial scheme.

A FIFA spokesperson confirmed that the professional relationship with Lamour formally ended on 17 August 2026. In the statement, FIFA expressed gratitude for his contributions over two years and wished him well in his future endeavors.

FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström also notified employees of the decision via an email sent on the evening of 17 August, indicating that the two parties had mutually agreed to end the partnership. This action drew immediate attention as Lamour had previously made forceful remarks about Infantino's FIFA Forward initiative. He described it as “a single-person project”, while also asserting that the FIFA organization had been misled about a proposal that was subsequently abandoned.

Lamour stressed that FIFA's purpose is to serve the sport of football and argued that the organization's leader should possess the ability to unite, connect, and inspire. Nevertheless, according to him, the situation at the time was heading in the opposite direction.

Remarkably, Lamour even stated that he was prepared to face the possibility of losing his job due to his opinions. He joined FIFA in November 2024, having previously served as UEFA's Deputy Secretary General, and was positioned just two levels beneath Infantino in the organizational hierarchy.

The dispute stemmed from the proposal to create FFE, a company intended to oversee the commercial rights and ticket sales for FIFA events, including the World Cup. Infantino had suggested selling a 21% stake in FFE to private investment funds, but the plan encountered fierce resistance.

UEFA, CONCACAF, and the AFC all openly expressed their lack of support. UEFA even warned of a potential World Cup boycott if the plan went ahead. After the project was scrapped, one of Infantino's senior advisors, Carlos Cordeiro, also stepped down.

Tensions escalated further as UEFA and CONCACAF withdrew their backing for Infantino's aspirations to seek a fourth term at the FIFA Congress in March 2027. Nevertheless, certain CONCACAF members, including Mexico, continued to back Infantino, while the African, South American, and Oceanian football confederations remained in support of the current FIFA President.