Key Takeaways
- • FIFA's Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour publicly stated that staff were "deceived" by FIFA President Gianni Infantino's lack of transparency in planning a $20 billion World Cup commercial subsidiary sale to private equity, signaling senior leadership opposition to the initiative.
- • Carlos Cordeiro, FIFA's senior adviser and former Goldman Sachs banker, resigned from his post on the White House Task Force for the World Cup, explicitly opposing the deal and calling the $20 billion commercial subsidiary "a bad deal for football."
- • The proposed transaction involved selling stakes in future World Cup profits to a New York investment fund backed by Joshua Kushner, with 20% ownership targeted for private equity partners.
- • Lamour's statement, made on July 31, 2026, came hours after Cordeiro's resignation and signaled potential organizational fracture at the executive level, with Lamour expressing willingness to lose his position rather than support the plan.
- • The combined resignations and public opposition from two senior FIFA executives triggered sufficient backlash to force Infantino to scrap the World Cup sell-off plans entirely.
Summary
FIFA faced a significant internal crisis over President Gianni Infantino's proposed monetization of World Cup commercial rights through private equity investment. On July 31, 2026, Kevin Lamour, FIFA's Chief Operating Officer since 2024, issued a statement to the Associated Press characterizing the initiative as opaque and organizationally damaging. Lamour wrote that FIFA staff were "deceived" by Infantino's lack of openness in planning the transaction and deserved "better than contempt and intimidation."
The proposed deal involved the creation of a $20 billion commercial subsidiary with 20% equity ownership offered to private investors, specifically a New York-based investment fund backed by Joshua Kushner. The transaction was designed to monetize future World Cup broadcasting and commercial rights. However, the lack of transparency surrounding the initiative's development generated significant opposition from senior leadership, with Lamour characterizing it as "the project of one person" rather than a collaborative organizational decision.
Hours before Lamour's statement, Carlos Cordeiro, FIFA's senior adviser and a former Goldman Sachs banker who represented the soccer body on the White House Task Force for the World Cup, resigned his position. Cordeiro stated explicitly that he had no involvement in the proposal and opposed it "unequivocally," calling the $20 billion commercial subsidiary "a bad deal for football." His resignation added institutional weight to emerging opposition within FIFA's executive structure.
Lamour's statement carried particular significance given his long tenure with Infantino at both FIFA and European soccer governing body UEFA. Rather than resign, Lamour effectively invited termination by stating "if that means I lose my job then so be it," emphasizing that his primary obligation was to defend colleagues facing what he characterized as intimidation. This willingness to risk his position underscored the depth of internal dissent regarding the transaction's governance and execution.
The combined public opposition from these two senior executives, coupled with reported global backlash, proved sufficient to force Infantino to abandon the World Cup sell-off initiative entirely, preventing the privatization of future tournament commercial revenues.
The proposed deal involved the creation of a $20 billion commercial subsidiary with 20% equity ownership offered to private investors, specifically a New York-based investment fund backed by Joshua Kushner. The transaction was designed to monetize future World Cup broadcasting and commercial rights. However, the lack of transparency surrounding the initiative's development generated significant opposition from senior leadership, with Lamour characterizing it as "the project of one person" rather than a collaborative organizational decision.
Hours before Lamour's statement, Carlos Cordeiro, FIFA's senior adviser and a former Goldman Sachs banker who represented the soccer body on the White House Task Force for the World Cup, resigned his position. Cordeiro stated explicitly that he had no involvement in the proposal and opposed it "unequivocally," calling the $20 billion commercial subsidiary "a bad deal for football." His resignation added institutional weight to emerging opposition within FIFA's executive structure.
Lamour's statement carried particular significance given his long tenure with Infantino at both FIFA and European soccer governing body UEFA. Rather than resign, Lamour effectively invited termination by stating "if that means I lose my job then so be it," emphasizing that his primary obligation was to defend colleagues facing what he characterized as intimidation. This willingness to risk his position underscored the depth of internal dissent regarding the transaction's governance and execution.
The combined public opposition from these two senior executives, coupled with reported global backlash, proved sufficient to force Infantino to abandon the World Cup sell-off initiative entirely, preventing the privatization of future tournament commercial revenues.
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