Grant Wahl, a soccer journalist that wrote extensively about the game, passed away on Friday in Qatar, while he was covering the World Cup quarterfinal game that was between Argentina and the Netherlands. Tim Scanlan, Wahl’s agent, confirmed his death in a phone interview on Friday night, where he said that Wahl was in the press box in the closing minutes of the matchup when he went into acute distress. After that, he was believed to have died either while on the way to the hospital, or once he arrived, after feeling unwell as the tournament went on.
Scanlan stated, “He wasn’t sleeping well, and I asked him if he tried melatonin or anything like, He said, ‘I just need to like relax for a bit.’” Medical personnel gave chest compressions and other treatments for roughly 20 minutes prior to Wahl being taken out off Lusail Iconic Stadium. Wahl was in the middle of covering his eighth men’s World Cup and planned on aggressively covering the event. Ned Price a State Department spokesperson added, “engaged with senior Qatari officials to see to it that his family’s wishes are fulfilled as expeditiously as possible.”
Wahl started his career in journalism back in 1996 at Sports Illustrated, and he worked for them for over 23 years. After writing the magazine’s first cover story on LeBron James, called “The Chosen One,” in 2002, when James was a junior in high school, he transitioned to covering soccer exclusively and his career grew along with the sports growth in the United States.
The United States Soccer Federation made a statement on Friday that reads, “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, was a kind and caring person whose passion for soccer and dedication to journalism were immeasurable.”
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