Infantino faces mounting pressure after adviser resigns and COO criticises World Cup sell-off plan

The pressure on Gianni Infantino intensified after a senior aide resigned and Fifa’s chief operating officer issued a severe public rebuke. Cordeiro quits as senior adviser to Fifa president, and Lamour said the sell-off plan ‘defies belief and imagination’.

Infantino is under huge pressure following his plan to sell chunks of the World Cup to private investors, a proposal that has provoked strong opposition worldwide. European countries have already promised to boycott Fifa competitions if he does not shelve the scheme. Friday’s developments, which saw two key members of his inner circle distance themselves from him, may prove equally damaging to any prospects of salvaging his presidency.

One of those departures came in the form of Cordeiro quits as senior adviser to Fifa president, a move that removed a trusted figure from Infantino’s advisory team. The resignation followed mounting criticism of the commercial strategy and arrived as national associations and confederations voiced alarm. The loss of a senior adviser compounds the reputational and operational challenges facing the Fifa president.

The organisation’s chief operating officer, Lamour, delivered a stinging assessment of the proposal, saying it ‘defies belief and imagination’. That rebuke from inside Fifa underlines the scale of internal disagreement and signals unsettled relations at the executive level. The comment has added to the public perception of a leadership under strain.

Opposition has not been limited to internal critics. Federations across Europe have signalled a readiness to boycott future Fifa events unless the plan is withdrawn, putting possible participation and scheduling at risk. The international backlash reflects concerns about governance and the precedent of handing major tournament rights to private investors.

Friday’s sequence of events — a high-profile resignation and a sharp internal rebuke — has deepened the crisis surrounding the proposed deal. Together, those developments increase scrutiny on Infantino’s next steps and the viability of the controversial commercial approach.

The unfolding situation leaves Infantino confronting mounting institutional resistance and damaged trust inside his own organisation. How he responds to calls to abandon the scheme and to restore unity within Fifa will determine the short-term future of his presidency.