According to his wife and the US Soccer Federation, one of America’s top football reporters passed away on Friday while covering the quarterfinals in Doha.
He gained notoriety when he was arrested at the Qatar World Cup for donning a rainbow shirt.
Grant Wahl, 48, contributed to the growth of soccer’s popularity in the United States by providing Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports with years of vivid reportage.
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NPR reports that when the Argentina-Netherlands game on Friday came to an end, Wahl passed out in the press tribune. Before removing him from the scene on a stretcher, paramedics performed CPR. According to the Wall Street Journal, Wahl reportedly had a heart attack.
“Grant made soccer his life’s work, and we are devastated that he and his brilliant writing will no longer be with us,” US Soccer said in a statement.
It said the “entire US Soccer family is heartbroken.”
I’m in full shock, tweeted Celine Gounder, a renowned epidemiologist and authority on infectious diseases.
Security personnel detained Wahl in Qatar on November 21 after he showed support for LGBTQ rights by wearing a rainbow shirt to the opening match between the US and Wales teams in a nation where same-sex relationships are prohibited.
This week, Wahl announced on his subscription email that he had visited a clinic at the Qatari media center and that “they stated I probably have bronchitis.”
“My body finally broke down on me. Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and lots of work can do that to you… I could feel my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort,” he wrote.
antibacterial medication, and “A few hours later, according to Wahl, he was “feeling a little bit better thanks to some strong cough medicine. However: Not good.”
In order to cover soccer, Wahl joined Sports Illustrated in 1996, which was at the time the top US sports magazine. Prior to joining CBS Sports a year later, he worked at the magazine till 2020.
Additionally, he had started a platform for subscription-based email newsletters and was updating it while the World Cup was underway.
Ned Price, a spokesperson for the State Department, tweeted that the US government had been “in close communication” with Grant Wahl’s family and expressed his “deep sadness” at his passing.
“We are engaged with senior Qatari officials to see to it that his family’s wishes are fulfilled as expeditiously as possible,” Price wrote.
News of Wahl’s death triggered an outpouring of emotion from the soccer world, a sign of his role in promoting the sport – both amateur and professional – in the United States.
“Fans of soccer and journalism of the highest quality knew we could count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our game, and its major protagonists: teams, players, coaches and that many personalities that make soccer unlike any sport,” US Soccer said.