Norwegian soccer president Lise Klaveness said Tuesday that FIFA’s decision to fire chief operating officer Kevin Lamour was unacceptable and reflected a climate of intimidation within the governing body. Klaveness, a former Norway international player, Oslo judge, and UEFA executive committee member, described Lamour as “the best football administrator I have ever met.”
Lamour’s criticism and dismissal
Lamour, a longtime colleague of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, had publicly warned staff that Infantino’s $20 billion private‑equity project to sell future World Cup profits lacked transparency. In a July 31 statement to the Associated Press, Lamour said FIFA employees were “deceived” and deserved “better than contempt and intimidation.”
Seventeen days after that interview, FIFA terminated Lamour’s employment. Klaveness called the move a “firing, not a resignation,” suggesting it was driven by pressure from FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafström on behalf of the president.
Calls for governance reform
Klaveness urged FIFA leadership and its administration to refuse orders that are not in the sport’s best interests, specifically naming Grafström. She highlighted the broader backlash from UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF over a secretive plan to sell a 20 percent stake in a FIFA commercial spin‑off to investors led by Joshua Kushner. The proposed $4.2 billion investment would have provided $20 million to each of FIFA’s 211 national member federations.
FIFA later issued a statement thanking Lamour for his two years of service and wishing him well. The organization also said senior managers who met with Infantino in Rabat, Morocco, after Lamour’s dismissal “reaffirmed their full support” of the president.
Implications for FIFA’s leadership
Klaveness warned that the handling of Lamour’s criticism signals a management style that is not in football’s best interests. The controversy comes as Infantino prepares for a potential re‑election bid at the next FIFA congress in Morocco, with a November 18 deadline for challengers to file.
The episode underscores ongoing concerns about transparency and governance within global soccer’s top body.
Original reporting: KSAT Sports (San Antonio) — read the source article.
