Norway FA President Lise Klaveness Condemns FIFA’s Firing of COO Kevin Lamour

Kevin Lamour, FIFA’s chief operating officer, was dismissed “late Monday” after a July 31 statement in which he said staff were “deceived” by Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell future World Cup profits. Lamour, a longtime colleague of Infantino from their UEFA days (2007-15) and a senior FIFA administrator for two years, had publicly criticized the $20 billion private-equity project. His removal sparked swift rebuke from Norway’s football federation president, Lise Klaveness, who called the action “unacceptable” and “management by fear.”

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Infantino’s proposal, dubbed “FIFA Forward Enterprise,” sought a $4.2 billion investment that would give investors a 20 % stake in a commercial spin-off. The deal promised $20 million to each of FIFA’s 211 national member federations and set a mid-September deadline for acceptance. Critics argued the plan would commercialise the sport’s core revenues and lacked transparency, prompting backlash from UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF.

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After the dismissal, Infantino convened senior management—excluding Lamour—in Rabat, Morocco. Following an Aug. 5 meeting, FIFA apologized for “errors” and said the attending managers “reaffirmed their full support” of Infantino’s presidency.

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Klaveness framed the firing as a symptom of a broader culture of intimidation within the governing body.

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• “Now he is thrown out and we are supposed to move on. It's unacceptable, it's management by fear,” — Lise Klaveness, norway FA president

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• “Now we also have to call upon FIFA leadership and the administration to not submit to orders you know are not in the interests of football,” — Lise Klaveness, norway FA president

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• “This is a firing situation, it's not a resignation,” — Lise Klaveness, norway FA president

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• “His statement was necessary to kill the project,” — Lise Klaveness, norway FA president

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• “We all got reports in Morocco, we know it's a management of fear,” — Lise Klaveness, norway FA president

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These statements encapsulate the Norwegian federation’s view that the dismissal reflects a climate of fear and a departure from good governance in world football.

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