Grant Wahl, an American journalist who helped grow the popularity of soccer in the U.S. and reported on some of the biggest stories in the sport, died Saturday while covering a World Cup match between Argentina and the Netherlands. He was 48.
Wahl fell back in his seat in a section of Lusail Stadium reserved for journalists during extra time of the game, and reporters adjacent to him called for assistance.
Emergency services workers responded very quickly, treated him for 20 or 30 minutes on site and then took him out on a stretcher, said Keir Radnedge, a veteran British sports journalist who was working nearby at the time.
The World Cup organising committee said he was taken to Doha’s Hamad General Hospital, but it did not state a cause of death. “We are in touch with the U.S. Embassy and relevant local authorities to ensure the process of repatriating the body is in accordance with the family’s wishes,” it said in a statement.
Wahl, who wrote for Sports Illustrated for more than two decades and then started his own website, was a major voice informing the American public of football during the time of increased interest after the U.S. hosted the 1994 World Cup. He also brought a critical eye to the organisational bodies of the international sport.
Wahl attempted to run for FIFA president against Sepp Blatter and Mohamed bin Hammam in 2011. He promised to open FIFA to greater transparency and said he contacted 150 countries without winning support for a nomination.
He “really helped put soccer on the mainstream sports map in the [United] States,” Radnedge said.
“Grant had a strong moral compass, on where sports should be and how sport ... should help set standards for people,” he said. “There was never any doubt that Grant was on the side of the good guys in wanting soccer to make the best of itself.”
Flowers are placed in memory of Grant Wahl, an American sports journalist who passed away whilst reporting on the Argentina and Netherlands match, prior to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 quarter final match between England and France at Al Bayt Stadium on December 10, 2022 in Al Khor, Qatar. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Wahl was covering his eighth World Cup. He wrote Monday on his website that he had visited a medical clinic while in Qatar.
“My body finally broke down on me. Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and lots of work can do that to you,” Wahl wrote. “What had been a cold over the last 10 days turned into something more severe on the night of the USA-Netherlands game, and I could feel my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort.”
Wahl wrote that he tested negative for COVID-19 and sought treatment for his symptoms.
“I went into the medical clinic at the main media center today, and they said I probably have bronchitis. They gave me a course of antibiotics and some heavy-duty cough syrup, and I’m already feeling a bit better just a few hours later. But still: No bueno,” he wrote.
Wahl tweeted on Wednesday that he had celebrated his birthday that day.
“We could always count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our game, and its major protagonists,” the U.S. Soccer Federation said in a statement. “Grant’s passion for soccer and commitment to elevating its profile across our sporting landscape played a major role in helping to drive interest in and respect for our beautiful game.”
Wahl’s wife, Dr. Celine Gounder, tweeted that she was thankful for the support of her husband’s “soccer family” and friends who had reached out.
“I’m in complete shock,” wrote Gounder, who is an associate professor at New York University School of Medicine, an attending physician at Bellevue Hospital Center and a CBS News contributor.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a tweet that American officials were in touch with Qatari authorities “to see to it that his family’s wishes are fulfilled as expeditiously as possible.”
A tribute to journalist Grant Wahl is shown on a screen before the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between England and France, at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar on December 10, 2022. | Photo Credit: AP
Wahl wore a rainbow T-shirt in support of LGBTQ rights to the United States’ World Cup opener against Wales on Nov. 21 and wrote that security refused him entry and told him to remove the shirt. Gay and lesbian sex is criminalised in Qatar, a conservative Muslim emirate.
Wahl wrote he was detained for 25 minutes at Ahmed Bin Ali stadium in Al Rayyan, then was let go by a security commander. Wahl said FIFA apologised to him.
Among Wahl’s work before he began covering soccer exclusively was a Sports Illustrated cover story about LeBron James in 2002, when James was a junior at St. Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio.
“He was always pretty cool to be around. He spent a lot of time in my hometown of Akron,” James said in Philadelphia after the Los Angeles Lakers lost in overtime to the 76ers. “Any time his name would come up, I’ll always think back to me as a teenager having Grant in our building down at St. V’s. It’s a tragic loss. It’s unfortunate to lose someone as great as he was. I wish his family the best. May he rest in paradise.”
A voter at times in FIFA’s annual awards, Wahl was among 82 journalists honoured last week by FIFA and the international sports press association AIPS for attending eight or more World Cups.
“His love for football was immense and his reporting will be missed by all who follow the global game,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
Wahl graduated from Princeton in 1996 and worked for Sports Illustrated from 1996 to 2021, known primarily for his coverage of soccer and college basketball. He then launched his own website, Fútbol with Grant Wahl, and a podcast with Meadowlark Media.
Wahl also worked for Fox Sports from 2012-19 and was hired by CBS Sports in 2021 as an analyst and editorial consultant. Wahl wrote the 2009 book “The Beckham Experiment” after English soccer star David Beckham joined Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy, and the 2018 book “Masters of Modern Soccer.”
His death at the World Cup left fellow journalists covering the games stunned.
“You come to a World Cup as a journalist to work, to share the stresses, the pressures but also the enjoyments and the fascination of it — and to share that with your readers, your listeners, your viewers. That’s what Grant was doing, that’s what he enjoyed doing. Everybody recognised that enthusiasm in him,” Radnedge said.
“So for him to not be with us anymore at such a young age, that’s an immense shock.”
Memorial to American writer Wahl placed at World Cup game
Flowers are laid at a media tribune desk in memory of the American journalist Grant Wahl, who passed away on December 10, 2022. | Photo Credit: Reuters
American soccer writer Grant Wahl was honoured with a tribute from FIFA on the desk where he was due to work on Dec. 10 at the World Cup quarterfinal match between France and England.
A posy of white lilies and a framed photograph of Wahl taken in Qatar was left at the media seat that had been assigned to the 48-year-old journalist who died at the World Cup in the early hours of Dec. 10.
“Tonight we pay tribute to Grant Wahl at his assigned seat in Al Bayt Stadium. He should have been here,” FIFA said in a statement.
“Our thoughts remain with his wife Céline, his family, and his friends at this most difficult time.” About 20 minutes before the match started, the photograph of Wahl was displayed on big screens in two corners of the stadium.
An announcement about his death was made to fans who applauded him.
