(Photo credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)

Kevin Lamour has departed his role as chief operating officer of FIFA weeks after he sharply criticized president Gianni Infantino's plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.

FIFA confirmed Lamour's exit in a statement to multiple media outlets, saying, 'FIFA can confirm that the working relationship between FIFA and Kevin Lamour as FIFA's Chief Operating Officer has ended on 17 August 2026.

'FIFA thanks Kevin for his two years of service and wishes him the best of luck for the future. No further comment will be made on the matter.'

Further details were scarce; the Guardian described Lamour's departure as a sacking, and the United Kingdom's Press Association called it a dismissal. Multiple reports said FIFA staff were notified of Lamour's departure from the organization via an email from secretary general Mattias Grafstrom.

Lamour was among the highest-ranking figures in world football to speak out against Infantino's widely unpopular plan to involve private equity in the World Cup. He called it 'the project of one person' in a July interview with the Associated Press, saying he and other staff felt deceived.

'Not only must this project not go ahead ... but the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions,' Lamour said at the time, before going on to imply that he knew his job may be at risk.

'If that means I lose my job, then so be it,' Lamour said. 'I will understand and respect that decision. At least I'll sleep well tonight.'

A French and Swiss citizen, Lamour came to FIFA in November 2024 after serving as the deputy general secretary of UEFA, European football's continental governing body.

Shortly after the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup, Infantino announced his intention to consolidate the World Cup's commercial rights -- encompassing broadcast, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing -- under a new commercial venture and to sell stakes in that venture to private equity. He pitched the potential to raise billions of dollars that could be reinvested in the game.

That didn't soften what many saw as an attempt to hand minority ownership in the world's biggest tournament to private investors with their own aims.

UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) unanimously opposed the plan, with UEFA going as far as to promise a boycott of World Cups and other FIFA tournaments should it go through.

Carlos Cordeiro, a former president of U.S. Soccer (2018-20), resigned as Infantino's senior adviser the day FIFA ultimately backed down from the FFE idea.

'If Member Associations believe additional investment is needed to develop the game, FIFA already has the financial capacity to provide that support from its existing resources,' Cordeiro said then. 'Against that backdrop, selling a permanent stake in football's most valuable asset to raise $4.2 billion makes little sense. It is mortgaging football's future without any compelling justification.'

Infantino now faces an uncertain future in FIFA's top office. Scotland's football association was the latest to declare it would not support Infantino in the next presidential election.

--Field Level Media