Internal Deception and Executive Pushback
FIFA’s chief operating officer publicly stated that staff members were deeply deceived by their president, Gianni Infantino, regarding a World Cup sell-off plan. Zurich-based executive Kevin Lamour forcefully suggested that the highly controversial project must not go ahead. In a direct statement, Lamour wrote that internal staff were actively deceived by Infantino’s severe lack of openness. Furthermore, he emphasized that his dedicated colleagues deserve much better than executive contempt and intimidation. While defending his team, Lamour explicitly called it the project of just one person and openly invited Infantino to fire him for speaking out.
High-Profile Resignations and Financial Backlash
This internal rebellion escalated rapidly just hours after Infantino’s senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, officially resigned from his post. Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs banker, unequivocally opposed spinning off FIFA’s commercial businesses into a $20 billion subsidiary. The strategic proposal involves selling a permanent 20 percent stake of future World Cup profits to private investors. Specifically, the planned anchor investor is a New York fund created by Joshua Kushner. Cordeiro firmly called the proposal a bad deal for football, noting that FIFA already sits on billions of dollars in reserves without any debt. Consequently, he argued that raising $4.2 billion by mortgaging the game’s most valuable asset makes little sense.
Political Timelines and Future Implications
Ultimately, this massive institutional crisis threatens Infantino’s long-standing grip on global soccer governance. Infantino has served as the president of FIFA for more than 10 years and initially seemed certain to be re-elected unopposed next March. However, Lamour stated that the time has now come for football’s political leaders to make the right decisions regarding the sport’s future. Currently, FIFA member federations across Africa and Asia are actively weighing Infantino’s financial offers ahead of a strict September 19 deadline. Meanwhile, the organization has set a separate November 18 deadline for any potential presidential challengers to formally come forward.
Reference
Dunbar, G. (2026, 31 julio). Senior FIFA officials criticize Infantino’s World Cup sell-off plan | AP News. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/cordeiro-infantino-fifa-executive-world-cup-4cff20f6e2dda925e6d5395b56dcf9ab?user_email=bd2c428b35d2f2d999bc6f7e665bad1355a8dd3247b2afc8121729c30cd9a01a&utm_medium=APNews_Alerts&utm_source=Sailthru_AP&utm_campaign=NewsAlert_Jul31_2026_11:17AM&utm_term=AP%20News%20Alerts