FIFA in chaos, Director personally accuses President Infantino of deception

The wave of opposition to the plan to sell part of the World Cup's commercial rights continues to erupt within FIFA. After former advisor Carlos Cordeiro publicly opposed and resigned, it was the turn of CEO Kevin Lamour to criticize Gianni Infantino, creating a rare crisis at the top of the organization.

Internal conflicts within FIFA are becoming more tense than ever after CEO Kevin Lamour publicly criticized the plan to sell part of the World Cup's commercial rights promoted by President Gianni Infantino. According to AP, Lamour's statement came just hours after senior advisor Carlos Cordeiro announced his resignation in opposition to the project.

In a statement to AP, Lamour affirmed that FIFA employees had been "completely deceived" by the way Infantino prepared the plan over the past months. He argued that the FIFA team "deserves respect rather than disdain and threats." Notably, this is the first time a sitting senior executive has spoken out so strongly about Infantino's "sell the World Cup" plan.

Kevin Lamour, who has served as FIFA's CEO since 2024 and worked closely with Infantino for years at both FIFA and UEFA, believes this is entirely a personal decision. He wrote: "This is a project of one individual. Not only should this project not be carried out... but now it is time for football leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions."

The French official even accepts the risk of losing his job while continuing to defend his colleagues. Lamour declared: "And if that means I lose my job, so be it. I will understand and respect that decision. At least tonight I will sleep well." However, he has not yet resigned from the COO position he has held since 2024.

Shortly before Lamour's statement, former senior advisor Carlos Cordeiro also announced his departure from FIFA and called on other leaders to speak out. The former president of the US Soccer Federation emphasized: "I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a part of the ownership of the World Cup." He stated: "Let me be clear. I am not involved in this proposal at all and I firmly oppose it," while calling the $20 billion commercial subsidiary a bad deal for football.

According to Infantino's proposal, FIFA would spin off all commercial activities, including the men's World Cup, women's World Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup, into a subsidiary worth about $20 billion, with 20% of shares owned by private investors. The strategic investor introduced by FIFA is Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner.

Cordeiro countered, arguing that FIFA holds billions of dollars in reserves, has no debt, and just generated about $15 billion in revenue in the most recent World Cup cycle. He concluded: "In that context, permanently selling a portion of football's most valuable assets just to raise $4.2 billion is almost meaningless. It is an act of mortgaging the future of football without any compelling reason." The fact that two figures who were once very close to Infantino are simultaneously opposing this controversial plan is putting increasing pressure on it.