Grant Wahl, a prominent soccer journalist and Johnson County native who graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School, has died. He was 49.
What we know: He was in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup and died while covering Friday’s quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands, according to NPR.
- The Associated Press reports that other media members sitting near Wahl in the media area say Wahl fell back in his seat and others called for assistance.
U.S. Soccer issued a statement Friday night confirming Wahl’s death and saying it was “heartbroken.”
U.S. Soccer Statement On The Passing Of Grant Wahl: pic.twitter.com/CBp1mCK1mQ
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) December 10, 2022
Reactions from across sports journalism, media and global soccer poured in Friday night, including locally.
Truly a sad day for Soccer. Grant was an SME Alumni and an amazing soccer journalist. May he Rest in Peace and our thoughts go out to his family. https://t.co/uB2f0VXD8A
— SME Boys & Girls Soccer (@smesoccercoach) December 10, 2022
Sporting Kansas City mourns the loss of Grant Wahl. The Kansas native was so much more than just a journalist to many. His passion for storytelling and the beautiful game made him a beloved member of the soccer community.
Our thought are with his family and friends.
— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) December 10, 2022
Life is fragile and there is always a reminder in there to live each moment for what it is. Don’t worry about the past nor the future, take care of the now. It’s the only guarantee in life.
RIP @GrantWahl
St Louis is still better than Kansas my friend. 💔💔💔
— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) December 10, 2022
Leading up to his death: He had been chronicling the day-to-day developments at the 2022 World Cup for his Substack blog, “Fútbol with Grant Wahl.”
- Prior to the U.S. Men’s National Team’s first World Cup game last month against Wales, Wahl was detained for 30 minutes outside the stadium in Qatar for wearing a shirt depicting a soccer ball surrounded by a rainbow.
- He was eventually let into the stadium, but Wahl called the incident an “unnecessary ordeal.”
- Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and FIFA, which governs the World Cup, has been criticized for hosting the tournament in that country.
On Monday, Wahl wrote on his Substack that he had visited a medical clinic 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.”
- He wrote he “probably had bronchitis” and had been prescribed antibiotics and “heavy-duty cough syrup.”
Brother’s response: On Friday, Eric Wahl, Grant’s brother, posted a video message on Instagram, saying he felt the circumstances of his brother’s death were suspicious.
- “I am gay. I am the reason he wore the rainbow shirt to the World Cup,” Eric Wahl says in the video. “My brother was healthy. He told me he received death threats. I do not believe my brother just died. I believe he was killed.”
Background: Born in Mission, Wahl was perhaps America’s most well-known soccer journalist and had covered the game for decades as it grew in prominence in this country.
- He spent most of his career at Sports Illustrated and was also a correspondent for Fox Sports and CBS Sports.
- In his career, he covered eight World Cups, as well as 12 NCAA tournaments and four Olympic games.
- In 2007, he wrote the New York Times bestseller “The Beckham Experiment,” about international soccer star David Beckham’s move to Major League Soccer.
- In 2011, Wahl briefly launched a bid for the presidency of FIFA, a move aimed at challenging what Wahl criticized as the corruption of the global soccer body under then-President Sepp Blatter.