The growing revolt against FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal intensified on Friday after FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour publicly distanced himself from the plan, becoming the second senior official within the organisation to speak out against it.
Lamour’s intervention came only hours after senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned in protest over the proposal, which seeks to create a new FIFA-owned commercial company before selling a minority stake to private investors to raise billions of dollars for football development.
In a strongly worded statement, Lamour accused FIFA’s leadership of misleading staff over the initiative and suggested the proposal lacked broad institutional backing.
“Not only must this project not go ahead… but the time has now come for football political leaders to make the right decisions. And if that means I lose my job, then so be it. At least I’ll sleep well tonight.”
He also described the proposal as “the project of one person”, claiming FIFA employees had been deceived during its development.
FIFA COO Kevin Lamour (top left) stands next to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin during the Euro 2024 game between Turkey and Georgia ČTK. Photocredit: imago
Lamour’s comments represent the most significant internal criticism yet from a serving FIFA executive and further deepen the crisis surrounding Infantino’s flagship commercial proposal.
The controversy has escalated rapidly over the past week. UEFA’s 55 member associations unanimously rejected the proposal and threatened to boycott FIFA competitions should the plan proceed. CONCACAF has also rejected the initiative, while the Asian Football Confederation has described it as “totally unacceptable”, leaving FIFA facing resistance from several of world football’s most influential confederations.
Infantino has defended the FIFA Forward Enterprise, insisting it would remain fully controlled by FIFA while generating more than $10 billion in development funding for member associations. FIFA has repeatedly stressed that football’s governance, competitions and sporting decisions would remain under its exclusive authority.
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However, opponents argue that introducing private investors into the commercial structure of the World Cup could fundamentally alter how football’s biggest competition is managed in the future.
With Cordeiro’s resignation now followed by Lamour’s public criticism, pressure is mounting on Infantino ahead of the September 19 vote, when FIFA’s 211 member associations will decide whether the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal moves forward.
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