Fifa’s finance chief leaves role after criticising Infantino’s World Cup plan – The Irish Times

Kevin Lamour has departed his role as chief operating officer of Fifa weeks after he sharply criticised ‌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 August 17th”.

“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 Press Association called it a dismissal. Multiple reports said Fifa staff ​were notified of Lamour’s departure from the organisation 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 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 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 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 US Soccer, resigned as Infantino’s senior adviser the day Fifa ultimately backed down from the idea.

AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa on Tuesday rejected the Qatar Football Association’s assertion that he had exceeded his authority by joining ‌Uefa and Concacaf in criticising Infantino.

In an unusually forthright letter, the Bahraini administrator also slammed the Qatari federation’s decision to prioritise “technicalities” over the defence of the ​sport, deepening the growing rift within Asian soccer. Last week, QFA president Hamad bin Khalifa ​Al-Thani wrote to the AFC saying neither he nor the federation had been consulted before the three confederations issued their open letter.

Responding to Al-Thani in a letter reviewed by Reuters, ⁠Sheikh Salman said he “categorically denied” he had overstepped his mandate.

“I have both the authority and the responsibility to act decisively to ‌safeguard ‌the ​AFC and Asian football’s position when matters of fundamental importance to … Asian football arise,” he said.

“This is in line with the legal mandate given to me in the AFC’s constitution … Its president has a responsibility ⁠to protect the interests and values of the sport.

“In circumstances ​such as those giving rise to the joint statement, it would ​be inconsistent with that responsibility for the AFC to remain silent.”

In his letter last week, Al-Thani, an AFC executive committee member ‌and Fifa Council member, asked the AFC to explain ​on what basis it considered itself authorised to speak for its 47 member associations.

Sheikh Salman pointed out he and other AFC ⁠presidents had previously issued public statements on matters of significance ⁠to Asian football, including backing Qatar ​as the host of the 2022 World Cup in the face of global pressure.

“I do not recall the QFA previously raising any procedural objection when the established protocol served its immediate interests,” the 60-year-old added.

“I therefore find it difficult to reconcile the sudden and selective criticism contained in the QFA Letter with the QFA’s historical acceptance of this general practice in other circumstances and its benefit from the same.”

The QFA did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Qatar and 2030 World Cup co-hosts Morocco were among six Arab national football associations that declared their support for Infantino this month ‌amid Fifa’ s crisis following the failed ⁠private investment proposal. Morocco is not governed by the AFC, but by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), which has backed Infantino.

Sheikh Salman said the QFA’s stance and actions in recent weeks served to “disrupt the unity of Asian football” and undermine ‌the AFC.

“Your admission that your main concern is strictly confined to the process confirms that you have prioritised procedural technicalities over the critical defence of Asian and world ​football’s interests,” he added.

Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman was voted AFC president in 2013 after a caretaker administration ​ran the region in the wake of the resignation of Mohammed bin Hammam, a Qatari. Bin Hammam was banned from football activities for life in 2012 for breaking seven articles of Fifa’s ethics code.

Infantino 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. The Football Association of Ireland last week rescinded a letter of support for Infantino’s re-election as Fifa president.– Reuters