American Journalist Grant Wahl Dies Unexpectedly At World Cup At 49

On Saturday, American soccer journalist Grant Wahl died at the World Cup after he collapsed in the middle of the Argentina v. Netherlands match. He was 49.

When Wahl fell at the Lusail Stadium, paramedics rushed to the scene, treated him there and then took him away on a stretcher to Doha’s Hamad General Hospital.

A cause of death has not yet been made public.

The World Cup organizing committee said in a statement, “We are in touch with the U.S. Embassy and relevant local authorities to ensure the process of repatriating the body is in accordance with the family’s wishes.”

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On Monday morning, the beloved journalist’s body was returned to the U.S. via John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

The previous week, Wahl shared with his followers that he wasn’t feeling well. “My body finally broke down on me,” he wrote on his website. “Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and lots of work can do that to you. What had been a cold over the last 10 days turned into something more severe… I could feel my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort.”

British sports journalist Keir Radnedge, who was there at the time of Wahl’s death, credited the late journalist with “really [helping to] put soccer on the mainstream sports map in the States.”

Radnedge remembered his peer fondly. “Grant had a strong moral compass, on where sports should be and how sport… should help set standards for people,” he said. “There was never any doubt that Grant was on the side of the good guys in wanting soccer to make the best of itself.”

“We could always count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our game, and its major protagonists,” said the U.S. Soccer Federation in a statement. “Grant’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 worked at Sports Illustrated for over 20 years before starting his own website. He will be remembered for getting U.S. sports fans excited about soccer, and for his crucial criticism of the sport’s organizational bodies.