LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) 鈥 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 organizing committee said he was taken to Doha's Hamad General Hospital, but it did not state a cause of death. 鈥淲e are in touch with the US Embassy and relevant local authorities to ensure the process of repatriating the body is in accordance with the family鈥檚 wishes,鈥 it said in a statement.
Wahl, who wrote for Sports Illustrated for a decade then started his own website, was a major voice informing an American public of soccer during time of increased interest after the U.S. hosted the 1994 World Cup. He also brought a critical eye to the organizational 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 鈥渞eally helped put soccer on the mainstream sports map in the States,鈥 Radnedge said.
鈥淕rant had a strong moral compass, on where sports should be and how sport ... should help set standards for people,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here was never any doubt that Grant was on the side of the good guys in wanting soccer to make the best of itself.鈥
Wahl was covering his eighth World Cup. He wrote Monday on his website that he had while in Qatar.
鈥淢y body finally broke down on me. Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and lots of work can do that to you,鈥 Wahl wrote. 鈥淲hat 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.鈥
Wahl wrote that he tested negative for COVID-19 and sought treatment for his symptoms.
鈥淚 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鈥檓 already feeling a bit better just a few hours later. But still: No bueno,鈥 he wrote.
Wahl tweeted on Wednesday that he had celebrated his birthday that day.
鈥淲e could always count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our game, and its major protagonists,鈥 the U.S. Soccer Federation said in a statement. 鈥淕rant'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鈥檚 鈥渟occer family鈥 and friends who had reached out.
鈥 ,鈥 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 that American officials were in touch with Qatari authorities 鈥渢o see to it that his family鈥檚 wishes are fulfilled as expeditiously as possible."
and wrote that security refused him entry and told him to remove the shirt. Gay and lesbian sex is criminalized 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 apologized to him.
Among Wahl鈥檚 work before he began covering soccer exclusively was about LeBron James in 2002, when James was a junior at St. Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio.
鈥淗e was always pretty cool to be around. He spent a lot of time in my hometown of Akron,鈥 James said in Philadelphia after the Los Angeles Lakers lost in overtime to the 76ers. 鈥淎ny time his name would come up, I鈥檒l always think back to me as a teenager having Grant in our building down at St. V鈥檚. It鈥檚 a tragic loss. It鈥檚 unfortunate to lose someone as great as he was. I wish his family the best. May he rest in paradise.鈥
A voter at times in FIFA鈥檚 annual awards, Wahl was among 82 journalists honored last week by FIFA and the international sports press association AIPS for attending eight or more World Cups.
鈥淗is love for football was immense and his reporting will be missed by all who follow the global game,鈥 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, F煤tbol 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 鈥淭he Beckham Experiment鈥 after English soccer star David Beckham joined Major League Soccer鈥檚 LA Galaxy, and the 2018 book 鈥淢asters of Modern Soccer.鈥
His death at the World Cup left fellow journalists covering the games stunned.
鈥淵ou 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 鈥 and to share that with your readers, your listeners, your viewers. That鈥檚 what Grant was doing, that鈥檚 what he enjoyed doing. Everybody recognized that enthusiasm in him,鈥 Radnedge said.
鈥淪o for him to not be with us anymore at such a young age, that鈥檚 an immense shock.鈥
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