Who is Kevin Lamour? Meet ex-FIFA COO whose fallout with Gianni Infantino over World Cup led to dramatic exit

Kevin Lamour was sacked as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of FIFA on Monday, just a few weeks after he criticized FIFA President Gianni Infantino's plans to sell stakes of the World Cup to private investors.

"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,” a FIFA spokesperson said, as per an official statement.

After the FIFA World Cup 2026 concluded, Infantino announced a proposal to create the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) subsidiary and to sell a minority stake in the World Cup to Thrive Eternal, a long-term investment vehicle launched by the American venture capital firm Thrive Capital, led by American venture capitalist Joshua Kushner.

However, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) led the criticizm of FIFA's plans, and even threatened to boycott upcoming FIFA tournaments. The global governing body soon abandoned its plans to sell the World Cup commercial rights.

Lamour claimed that Infantino had “deceived” the board staff and said that the project was in the interest of just one person.

Who is Kevin Lamour?

Born in 1980 in Brest, France, Lamour grew up in Brittany. His entry into football governance began in 2006 when he joined Michel Platini's successful campaign for the UEFA presidency. Following Platini's election, Lamour formally joined UEFA in 2007.

Over nearly two decades at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, Lamour steadily moved through executive positions.

He eventually served as UEFA’s Deputy General Secretary, working closely with prominent figures in international sports governance, including UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, Theodore Theodoridis (who became UEFA General Secretary in 2016) and Infantino.

Infantino was elected UEFA General Secretary in 2009, a position he held until 2016, when he became the FIFA president. During his time at UEFA, he oversaw financial regulations, tournament expansion and governance reforms. 

On 1 November 2024, FIFA officially appointed Lamour as the global governing body's Chief Operating Officer (COO). As the COO of FIFA, he oversaw a broad range of FIFA's administrative divisions, including finance, legal and compliance, communications, technology and operations, member associations, and professional football relations and development.

Upon joining FIFA as its COO, Lamour thanked Infantino and FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom for their "trust and support". “I am looking forward to this great new challenge at FIFA and to bringing my experience to support the further development of the game at the global level," he said in 2024, according to a FIFA press release.

“I would like to thank both the FIFA President Gianni Infantino and FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström for their trust and support, and equally, I would like to express my gratitude to UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin and UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis for helping to make this change possible," he added.

Lamour's departure marks a dramatic turn in a career that had taken him from being a trusted ally of Infantino at UEFA to becoming one of the most prominent internal critics of the FIFA president.