Grant Wahl Obituary, Death – Grant Wahl, a well-known soccer journalist who covered Argentina’s World Cup quarterfinal match against the Netherlands, died Friday in Doha, Qatar, while covering the game. On Friday night, Wahl’s agent, Tim Scanlan, confirmed the death over the phone. According to Scanlan, Wahl collapsed in the press tribune during the final minutes of a quarterfinal game. After becoming ill during the tournament, Scanlan believes he died in a hospital in Qatar or while being transported to one. “He wasn’t sleeping well, so I asked if he’d tried anything like melatonin or anything,” Scanlan explained. “‘I just need to relax for a little while,’ he said.”
Wahl, 48, began his professional journalism career in 1996 at Sports Illustrated and stayed for 24 years. He initially covered both college basketball and soccer — he wrote a famous 2002 Sports Illustrated cover story on LeBron James, who was then a junior in high school — but shifted to soccer exclusively over the next two decades, attending and writing about every World Cup and growing in prominence as the sport grew in the United States. The US Soccer Federation said in a statement Friday night, “Grant’s passion for soccer and commitment to raising its profile across our sporting landscape played a significant role in driving interest in and respect for our beautiful game.”
Don Garber, the commissioner of Major League Soccer, wrote that Wahl “was a kind and caring person whose passion for soccer and dedication to journalism was immeasurable.” He said that what had appeared to be a common cold for more than a week had “turned into something more severe” around the time the United States played the Netherlands on December 3. “I could feel a new level of pressure and discomfort in my upper chest,” he wrote, adding that a coronavirus test came back negative. He claimed that he was misdiagnosed with bronchitis by medical personnel in Qatar. He claimed that the antibiotics he was given when combined with 12 hours of sleep, were effective.
He hosted a party at his apartment on Wednesday night to celebrate his birthday, which was on Thursday, according to Scanlan. Wahl has recently written about his health struggles while covering a series of stories that, according to him, only allowed him about five hours of sleep per night. “My body finally broke down on me,” he wrote on Monday. “Three weeks of no sleep, high stress, and a lot of work can do that.”