FIFA dismisses COO Kevin Lamour amid governance dispute

FIFA has dismissed chief operating officer Kevin Lamour after a public dispute over a proposed investment scheme, BBC Sport reported on Tuesday. His departure was confirmed on Monday evening, a little more than two weeks after he criticised president Gianni Infantino's handling of a plan involving stakes in FIFA competitions. UEFA vice-president Laura McAllister responded by warning that the decision sends a troubling message to those pressing for change in world football.

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Lamour had said FIFA's administration was misled over the proposal to sell competition stakes to private investors. He described the initiative as being driven by one person, according to the BBC report. FIFA then abandoned the plan on August 1, one day after Lamour issued his statement. The report did not give a more detailed official explanation for his dismissal.

The controversy had already produced another senior departure. FIFA adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned on the same day the investment proposal was halted. Infantino subsequently received support from senior FIFA executives during a meeting in Morocco, which Lamour did not attend, BBC Sport reported.

UEFA has separately said it has lost confidence in Infantino and criticised the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise arrangement as opaque and improperly handled. UEFA later joined the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf in an open letter accusing FIFA and Infantino of damaging trust through deception over the plan.

The football associations of England, Wales, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland have also withdrawn their support for Infantino. BBC Sport reported that the four associations do not intend to vote for his re-election when FIFA holds its presidential election in early 2027.

McAllister, a former Wales captain and a member of UEFA's executive committee, worked with Lamour when he served as UEFA deputy general secretary. In her statement, she characterised him as a principled and independent administrator and argued that his removal weakens FIFA's administration. Her response adds to the institutional criticism surrounding the abandoned proposal, while the confirmed sequence of events leaves Lamour's criticism and dismissal at the centre of the governance dispute.