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FIFA Confirms Departure of Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour

FIFA announced the end of its working relationship with Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour on August 17, 2026, following his public criticism of president Gianni Infantino's abandoned plan to sell World Cup stakes. Lamour had acknowledged the risk of losing his job, and several figures, including Premier League chief executive Richard Masters, have weighed in on the controversy.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 distinct · 1 masthead · 1 article Version 1 Coverage Aug 17, 2026 Published 2d ago

FIFA Confirms Departure of Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour

World football's governing body, FIFA, confirmed on Monday that its chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, is no longer with the organization. In a statement, FIFA said: "FIFA can confirm that the working relationship between FIFA and Kevin Lamour as FIFA’s Chief Operating Officer has ended on 17 August 2026." The statement added: "FIFA thanks Kevin for his two years of service and wishes him the best of luck for the future."

Lamour, a native of Switzerland, had publicly opposed a plan by FIFA president Gianni Infantino to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity—a plan that has since been abandoned. Speaking about the proposal, Lamour said, "It is the project of one person." He added, "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."

In late July, Lamour had conceded that his outspokenness could cost him his job. "If that means I lose my job, then so be it," he told The Associated Press. "I will understand and respect that decision. At least I’ll sleep well tonight."

Lamour joined FIFA in November 2024 after nearly two decades at UEFA, where he served as the body's deputy general secretary by the time of his departure.

Reactions and Context

The departure has drawn responses from other figures in football. Richard Masters, the Premier League chief executive, expressed strong views about the now-abandoned plan. "I don't think FIFA should be ever contemplating selling off a stake in the World Cup," Masters said. He further criticized Infantino's approach, saying that Infantino "pressed the self-destruct button" over the plan to sell off a stake in the World Cup. Masters also remarked, "This is a problem of FIFA's own making," and added, "They're a not-for-profit organisation. They should be holding the World Cup in trust for the future of football."

Additionally, reports indicate that the Israel Football Association (IFA) withdrew its support for Infantino's re-election on Tuesday. IFA president Moshe Zuares sent a letter to FIFA stating that the IFA would retract its previous support for Infantino, making Israel's football association the latest FIFA member to withdraw support for the president.

How this outlet told it

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TSN

Framing: FIFA fires COO Lamour following Infantino criticism

as of Aug 17, 2026, 9:46 PM UTC

Facts Included:

FIFA confirmed the dismissal of its chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, on Monday.
FIFA said in a statement: '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 thanked Lamour for his two years of service.
Lamour came out publicly against FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s now abandoned plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private equity.
Lamour said of Infantino’s plan: 'It is the project of one person.'
Lamour said: '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.'
Speaking to The Associated Press in late July, Lamour conceded he was likely to lose his job for being outspoken.
Lamour said: 'If that means I lose my job, then so be it.'
Lamour joined FIFA in November of 2024 after nearly two decades at UEFA.

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What was claimed, and who backed it

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Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimFIFA confirmed the dismissal of its chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, on Monday.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TSN as of Aug 17, 2026, 9:46 PM UTC
ClaimFIFA said in a statement: 'FIFA can confirm that the working relationship between FIFA and Kevin Lamour as FIFA’s Chief Operating Officer has ended on 17 August 2026.'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TSN as of Aug 17, 2026, 9:46 PM UTC
ClaimFIFA thanked Kevin Lamour for his two years of service.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TSN as of Aug 17, 2026, 9:46 PM UTC
ClaimKevin Lamour came out publicly against FIFA president Gianni Infantino's now abandoned plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private equity.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TSN as of Aug 17, 2026, 9:46 PM UTC, The Guardian — World as of Aug 18, 2026, 10:45 PM UTC
ClaimKevin Lamour said of Infantino's plan: 'It is the project of one person.'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TSN as of Aug 17, 2026, 9:46 PM UTC
ClaimKevin Lamour said: '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.'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TSN as of Aug 17, 2026, 9:46 PM UTC
ClaimLamour said: 'If that means I lose my job, then so be it.'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TSN as of Aug 17, 2026, 9:46 PM UTC, The Guardian — World as of Aug 18, 2026, 10:45 PM UTC
ClaimLamour joined FIFA in November of 2024 after nearly two decades at UEFA where he served as the body's deputy general secretary by the time of his departure.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TSN as of Aug 17, 2026, 9:46 PM UTC
ClaimIn late July, Lamour conceded he was likely to lose his job for being outspoken.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TSN as of Aug 17, 2026, 9:46 PM UTC
ClaimLamour's dismissal was due to his opposition to Infantino's plan to sell World Cup stakes.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via TSN as of Aug 17, 2026, 9:46 PM UTC, The Guardian — World as of Aug 18, 2026, 10:45 PM UTC
ClaimGianni Infantino's decision to sack Kevin Lamour has led to opposition from some FIFA members.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Aug 18, 2026, 10:45 PM UTC
ClaimOn Tuesday, the Israel Football Association (IFA) withdrew its support for Infantino's re-election.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Aug 18, 2026, 10:45 PM UTC
ClaimIFA president Moshe Zuares sent a letter to FIFA stating the IFA would retract its previous support for Infantino.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Aug 18, 2026, 10:45 PM UTC
ClaimIsrael's football association was the latest FIFA member to withdraw support for Infantino.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Aug 18, 2026, 10:45 PM UTC
ClaimKevin Lamour was born in France.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Aug 18, 2026, 10:45 PM UTC
ClaimLamour was a native of Switzerland.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TSN as of Aug 17, 2026, 9:46 PM UTC
ClaimRichard Masters, the Premier League chief executive, said: 'I don't think FIFA should be ever contemplating selling off a stake in the World Cup.'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Aug 18, 2026, 10:45 PM UTC
ClaimRichard Masters said that Infantino 'pressed the self-destruct button' over the plan to sell off a stake in the World Cup.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Aug 18, 2026, 10:45 PM UTC
ClaimRichard Masters said: 'This is a problem of FIFA's own making.'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Aug 18, 2026, 10:45 PM UTC
ClaimRichard Masters said: 'They're a not-for-profit organisation. They should be holding the World Cup in trust for the future of football.'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Aug 18, 2026, 10:45 PM UTC
ClaimRichard Masters said that Infantino's plan to sell a stake in the World Cup was a mistake.	ConfidenceLow	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Aug 18, 2026, 10:45 PM UTC
ClaimThe Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said the plan to sell off a stake in the World Cup made FIFA's problems self-inflicted.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Aug 18, 2026, 10:45 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 distinct · 1 masthead · 1 article consulted: TSN 22 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-28