LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — Grant Wahl, one of America’s best-known soccer writers, died early Saturday while covering the World Cup match between Argentina and the Netherlands.
U. S. media sitting next to him said Wahl fell in a segment of the iconic Lusail stadium reserved for reporters to have extra time for the game, and reporters next to him called for help. He had died.
Wahl tweeted Wednesday that he celebrated his birthday that day. American journalists who knew Wahl said he was 49.
“We can count on Grant to provide insightful and entertaining stories about our game and its key players,” the U. S. Soccer Federation said. U. S. in a statement. ” Grant’s confidence in the power of the game to advance human rights has been and will continue to be an inspiration. “everyone. Grant has made football his life’s work, and we are devastated that he and his brilliant writing are no longer with us.
Wahl covering his eighth World Cup. He wrote on his online page on Monday that he had visited a medical clinic in Qatar.
“Through it all, my body collapsed in the most sensitive part of me. Three weeks of poor sleep, high altitude tension and a lot of work can do this to you,” Wahl wrote. something more serious on match night USA. I can feel my upper chest take on a new point of tension and discomfort. “
Wahl wrote that he had tested negative for COVID-19 and sought a remedy for his symptoms.
“Today I went to the medical clinic in the main media center and was told I had bronchitis. I was given a course of antibiotics and cough syrup, and I already feel a little better a few hours later. But still: Not good,” he wrote.
Wahl wore a rainbow LGBTQ rights jersey at the opening of the U. S. World Cup. He spoke to the U. S. on Nov. 21 against Wales and wrote that security denied him access and told him to take off his shirt. Muslim country.
Wahl wrote that he was detained for 25 minutes at Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan and then released through a security commander. Wahl said FIFA apologized to him.
U. S. State Department spokesman Ned Price tweeted Friday night: “We were deeply saddened to receive the news of Grant Wahl’s passing and to express our condolences to his family, with whom we have been in close communication. We are in contact with senior Qatari officials that his family’s wishes will be fulfilled as soon as possible. “
Wahl is survived by his wife, Dr. Celine Gounder, an associate professor at New York University School of Medicine, an attending physician at Bellevue Hospital Center and a contributor to CBS News.
Gounder tweeted that she was grateful for her husband’s “football family” and friends who had reached out.
“I’m in shock,” he wrote.
Among Wahl’s paintings before he began playing football exclusively, an illustrated sports history about LeBron James in 2002, when James was a junior at St. James in the U. S. Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio.
“He’s been great to be with. 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. Going back to myself as a teenager and had Grant at our construction in St. V’s. It is a tragic loss. It’s unfortunate to lose someone as big as him. I wish his circle of family well. May he rest in paradise.
Wahl, who voted for the only time at FIFA’s annual awards, wrote this week that he is among 82 bloodhounds honored by FIFA and foreign sports press deal AIPS for attending 8 or more World Cups.
Wahl graduated from Princeton in 1996 and worked for Sports Illustrated from 1996 to 2021, known for its school football and basketball policy. He then introduced his own website.
Wahl worked for Fox Sports from 2012 to 2019.