FIFA exit sparks fresh clash with UEFA over the future of football governance

Laura McAllister, a vice-president of UEFA, has criticised FIFA’s decision to dismiss chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, warning that it sends a “deeply troubling message” to anyone seeking change within football’s global governing body.

FIFA confirmed Lamour’s departure on Monday, more than two weeks after he told the Associated Press that the organisation’s administration had been misled by president Gianni Infantino over a proposal to sell a minority stake in a company overseeing World Cup competitions to private investors.

Lamour had described the proposed company as a “one-person project”. On the same day, senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned, increasing pressure on Infantino.

McAllister, who worked with Lamour when he was UEFA’s deputy general secretary, said: “I know Kevin Lamour as an honest and exemplary sports leader, and as a trusted colleague. He is a leader of strong principles, who courageously defends the values that should govern our work in football administration.”

She added: “His dismissal seriously weakens FIFA’s governance and undermines a unique opportunity to change the institution’s culture and redirect it towards sporting values, rather than being limited to commercial and financial objectives.”

McAllister also said FIFA should not be identified solely with its president.

“FIFA is not the president; it represents the entire football family,” she said. “Global football needs strong and independent leaders who stand by their principles and speak out when necessary.”

She concluded: “Losing a leader of Kevin’s standing and competence sends a deeply troubling message to everyone seeking change.”

Background to the dispute

Lamour did not attend a FIFA Council meeting held in Morocco on 5 August. During that meeting, the council publicly expressed its full support for Infantino.

UEFA, together with the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf, had accused Infantino of “deception” over the private-investment plan in an open letter signed by the presidents of the three continental confederations.

Several European football associations have since withdrawn their support for Infantino’s expected bid to stand for re-election as FIFA president at next year’s Congress.

The original proposal involved creating a company to manage the commercial and operational aspects of FIFA’s competitions, including the men’s and women’s World Cups. A minority stake in that company would have been sold to private investors.

FIFA later announced that the plan had been abandoned. It also promised to review the procedures followed in preparing the proposal, although it has not yet said who will conduct that review.

Lamour’s dismissal has therefore added a new point of tension to an already strained relationship between FIFA’s leadership and several continental confederations. McAllister’s intervention places UEFA’s concerns about governance and institutional reform directly on the public record, while FIFA has confirmed the departure but has not provided further details about the decision.