'This is one man's project': FIFA COO says Infantino deceived the organization's staff
FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour stated that the organization's staff had been deceived by President Gianni Infantino during the preparation of the plan to sell stakes in the commercial rights to the World Cup, and effectively offered himself up to be fired. The statement by the Zurich-based executive, distributed on Friday through the Associated Press, became a defense of the FIFA administration amid the fallout from its chief's initiative.
Lamour wrote that the staff had been "deceived" by the lack of openness on Infantino's part while the deal was being prepared in recent months, and "deserves better than contempt and intimidation."
"What has been announced in recent days, and what has been happening behind the scenes in recent months, defies both comprehension and imagination," the statement says. "I will say this very clearly and directly: the project that has caused so much controversy and discussion is not a FIFA project. And even less so a project of the FIFA administration. This is one man's project."
"FIFA's vice presidents, members of the FIFA Council, the confederations, the federations, the players, the leagues, the clubs and the fans were not the only ones who were ignored. FIFA's own administration was also deceived. This lying by omission over many months and this unilateral exercise of power are not something insignificant," Lamour continued. "Not only must this project not be implemented… but the time has also come for football's political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions."
Lamour did not resign from the post he has held since 2024, but stated that he has obligations to his colleagues. "And if that means I lose my job — so be it. I will understand and accept that decision. At least today I will sleep soundly," he concluded.
Who is Lamour
The statement carries particular weight because of its author's background. Lamour joined FIFA as chief operating officer in 2024, having previously worked as UEFA's deputy general secretary, an organization he first joined in 2007 and where he worked alongside Gianni Infantino — UEFA's general secretary, first on an interim basis in 2007 and then permanently from 2009 to 2016. Lamour was also part of Infantino's campaign team in 2016, when he was elected FIFA president. French by birth, he holds dual French-Swiss citizenship. He came into football from politics two decades ago, working as an aide to then-UEFA President Michel Platini.
In other words, the FIFA president has been publicly opposed by a man who worked side by side with him for twenty years and helped him come to power.
The adviser's resignation
Lamour's statement appeared several hours after the resignation of Infantino's senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro — a former Goldman Sachs banker who represented the football organization on the White House task force for the World Cup. On leaving, he called on other senior FIFA officials to speak out.
"I cannot stand aside while FIFA considers the possibility of selling a stake in the World Cup," Cordeiro wrote. The former president of the United States Soccer Federation said that he had not been included in the discussion of the plan, which is backed by a New York investment fund created by Joshua Kushner. "Let me be direct. I had nothing to do with this proposal and I oppose it unconditionally," Cordeiro stated, calling the $20 billion commercial subsidiary a "bad deal for football." In the full version, his wording read: the plan is a "bad deal for FIFA's member associations, a bad deal for football and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game."
The confederations' revolt
As 1news.az reported, FIFA announced plans to create FIFA Forward Enterprise on July 28. The reaction proved unprecedented in its speed and severity.
On Thursday, at an emergency meeting, all 55 UEFA national associations unanimously rejected the proposal and approved a boycott of all FIFA tournaments as long as the initiative remains in force. The European confederation's wording leaves no room for bargaining: "No UEFA national team will take part in any FIFA competition as long as these proposals remain in force — unless this proposal is fully withdrawn and binding guarantees are given that FIFA will never again open its governance or its competitions to private ownership."
By CNN's calculations, the boycott, if implemented, would mean the absence from the 2030 World Cup of the reigning champion — the Spanish national team — as well as the semifinalists of the last tournament, France and England. It would also affect the Women's World Cup in Brazil next year, where three of the four semifinalists also represented Europe.
On Thursday the proposal was rejected by CONCACAF, which brings together 41 associations: its members stated their "deep concern at the lack of due process around the proposal, the artificially short deadline set and the absence of any review or approval by the relevant FIFA governing bodies." On Friday they were joined by the Asian Football Confederation, which demanded an "urgent review" of FIFA's governance system and pointed to "fundamental shortcomings in FIFA's consultation and decision-making processes that must be addressed." In a letter to AFC members, its president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa wrote that "FIFA's unilateral actions appear to undermine the very foundations of continental football." Sky Sports notes that the AFC has until now remained one of Infantino's main supporters, and that its statement comes very close to demanding his departure.
The Confederation of African Football and the Oceania Football Confederation will consider the matter at meetings in the coming weeks; CONMEBOL has not yet issued a reaction.
What FIFA is saying
The organization has not withdrawn the project. On Friday morning FIFA came out in its defense, stating that "nobody is selling football" and placing responsibility for the public outrage on "erroneous media reports." "We respect the feedback and concerns expressed publicly and reaffirm our commitment to an open and democratic consultation," the statement says. "Our planned consultation process was disrupted by incorrect media reports. We will continue this consultation process so that every member association has the opportunity to express its opinion by voting on the basis of facts." "Without the support of the majority of member associations, FIFA's commercial activities would remain unchanged. FFE would not be created. Nobody is selling football. That is not something FIFA would ever allow."
A number of publications presented this statement as an abandonment of the project. Formally, there are no grounds for such an interpretation: FIFA merely repeated a condition that was also contained in the original release, and directly confirmed its intention to take the consultations through to a vote. The deadline for responses from member associations is open until September 19.
The American trail
The group of investors is headed by Thrive Eternal, founded by Josh Kushner — the brother of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump. In our Tuesday article this detail had not yet been confirmed: in its official release FIFA named Thrive Eternal without disclosing its ownership, and reports of the involvement of "figures close to Trump" came only from The Times.
Separately, FIFA has come under the attention of the U.S. Congress: Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin, the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, sent Infantino a letter demanding documents on FIFA's ties with the Trump administration. A FIFA representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter. Trump himself, who was at Camp David on Friday, was responding to a question about whether he had discussed the matter with Infantino.
Azerbaijan's position
The Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan, in response to a request from 1news.az, said that it is studying the matter.
What comes next
The coordinated resistance of three confederations adds up to the most serious pressure on Infantino ahead of next year's presidential election. CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani, according to media reports, is considering putting forward his candidacy against the incumbent FIFA head. The global players' union FIFPRO also came out against the initiative, stating that it would irreversibly change the structure and motivation of the biggest international tournaments.
In the week since the World Cup final, Infantino has gone from presenting the trophy to a position in which he is publicly opposed by his own chief operating officer, his recent adviser and three of the six continental confederations.
