The footballing world is in mourning after US journalist Grant Wahl passed away on Friday night in Qatar.
Wahl, 48, was covering the Argentina-Netherlands World Cup quarter-final when he fell ill. After being treated at Lusail Stadium, he was taken to hospital but did not recover. The BBC say early reports believe it to be a heart attack.
Earlier in the week he had complained that he was suffering from bronchitis and was taking antibiotics, but was otherwise fit and healthy.
An esteemed journalist and authority on football in the United States, Wahl was educated at Princeton and studied football for his thesis, before beginning a 26-year career in journalism. Many credit him with growing the game significantly in the US and he wrote three books too; The Beckham Experiment, Masters of Modern Soccer and Football 2.0.
He is survived by his wife Dr, Celine Grounder, who expressed her gratitude to the tributes that have flooded in from the great and the good of football media.
I am so thankful for the support of my husband @GrantWahl's soccer family & of so many friends who've reached out tonight.
I'm in complete shock. https://t.co/OB3IzOxGlE
— Céline Gounder, MD, ScM, FIDSA 🇺🇦 (@celinegounder) December 10, 2022
Earlier in the World Cup he caused a stir by wearing a rainbow t-shirt to games in Qatar, which he was detained for by Qatari authorities and asked to remove it. He was a strong advocate of LGBTQIA+ rights.
His most recent project was a personal substack, where you can read his latest work here.
