Kevin Lamour, one of the most senior officials at FIFA, has publicly challenged president Gianni Infantino over a controversial plan to sell stakes in the World Cup, putting the normally private Frenchman at the centre of a major dispute within football’s governing body.
Lamour is FIFA’s chief operating officer (COO), making him the organisation’s third-highest-ranking executive behind Infantino and secretary general Matthias Grafstrom. He has responsibility for a wide range of areas, including relations with national associations, finance, legal affairs, human resources, communications and technology.
His criticism of Infantino’s proposed World Cup project was highly unusual, given his position and his long-standing reputation for avoiding public attention.
The plan to sell commercial stakes linked to the World Cup was eventually abandoned. On 31 July, Lamour openly condemned the initiative and questioned the way it had been handled.
“This is just one person’s project… It is time for football’s political leaders to ask the right questions and make the right decisions,” he said.
He added: “FIFA employees have been deceived and deserve better than contempt and intimidation… If that means I lose my job, so be it. I will understand and respect that decision. At least I will sleep with a clear conscience tonight.”
A career built behind the scenes
Lamour was born in Brest, France, in 1980 and is 45 years old. He grew up in Gosne, in the Brittany region.
His connection with football began through his father, Jean-Louis Lamour. He was a goalkeeper and coach at Plabennec before becoming a police officer and later serving as a security official with the France national team.
According to French newspaper L’Equipe, Lamour is known for being exceptionally private. He has no social-media accounts and has not given a newspaper interview since 2009. The only interview he has conducted was with regional publication Le Telegramme, reportedly at the request of his grandfather.
Lamour entered football administration in 2006, joining Michel Platini’s campaign for the UEFA presidency. He initially worked as an unpaid trainee.
After Platini won the election, Lamour became his chief of staff. In 2007, he was appointed UEFA deputy general secretary, working from the organisation’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
It was during that period that Lamour worked closely with Infantino, who was then UEFA’s general secretary. Their professional relationship stretches back many years, although Lamour’s recent public intervention has placed him on the opposite side of a significant internal argument.
On 1 November 2024, Lamour moved from UEFA to FIFA to become chief operating officer. The appointment placed him directly beneath Infantino and Grafstrom in the administrative structure of world football’s governing body.
Despite his senior role, Lamour has remained largely unknown to the wider football public. Former colleagues have instead described him as an influential figure who prefers to work away from the spotlight.
Among those to have praised him are Andriy Shevchenko, Lisa Klaveness and Theodore Theodoridis. They have characterised Lamour as “a rare person in the world of football”, combining firmness with diplomacy while consistently choosing to operate behind the scenes.
His decision to speak out against Infantino’s World Cup proposal has therefore marked a sharp departure from the discreet career that made him one of FIFA’s least visible yet most powerful officials.
