Internal tension in FIFA escalated this Friday after one of the organization's main executives directly accused the leadership of having hidden information about a project to open the World Cup to private investors. The complaint came from Kevin Lamour, FIFA's director of operations, who assured that the initiative does not belong to the institution and asked that it not continue.
In a statement sent to the AP, Lamour stated that "the project that has sparked so much controversy and debate is not a FIFA project. And much less is it a project of the FIFA administration. It is the project of a single person."
The manager maintained that different football players were excluded from the talks and added that even the organization's administration was unaware of the scope of the proposal. "FIFA vice presidents, FIFA Council members, confederations, federations, players, leagues, clubs and fans were not the only ones who were ignored. FIFA's own administration was also misled," he said.
Lamour, who previously worked at UEFA and joined FIFA less than two years ago, described the situation as a display of “lack of trust, lack of transparency, lack of discernment, lack of good governance and a serious lack of respect.”
Lamour questions the leadership and asks to stop the initiative
The director of operations was especially harsh when referring to president Gianni Infantino, although without mentioning him by name in some passages of the text. "Our mission – the mission of the hundreds of passionate, dedicated and exemplary FIFA employees – is to serve football. Not to serve the personal interests of a person who, unfortunately, believes that he embodies FIFA when he is supposed to be at its service," he wrote.
He also defended the organization's workers and denounced an internal climate of pressure. “They deserve better than contempt and intimidation,” he said, before acknowledging that his statements could cost him his job, although he assured that “he will sleep peacefully.”
Lamour concluded that the project “not only should not go forward,” but that the time has come for football leaders to review what happened and assume responsibilities for the future of the organization.
Another resignation adds to the internal crisis
Hours before Lamour's statement was made known, Carlos Cordeiro, advisor to the president of FIFA, announced his resignation due to disagreement with the same proposal. In a message spread on social networks, he explained that he did not participate in the design of the plan and expressed his opposition.
"I cannot sit idly by while FIFA considers selling a participation in the World Cup. I want to make it clear that I have had nothing to do with this proposal and that I am unequivocally opposed to it," he said.
Cordeiro considered that the operation would be “a bad agreement for the member federations of FIFA, a bad agreement for football and a bad agreement for the long-term future of this sport.”
The succession of public criticism and resignations reflects a growing unease within FIFA around the proposal to allow the entry of private capital into the World Cup, an initiative that now faces questions from the organization's own structure.
