Who is US journalist Grant Wahl; why did he die?

Grant Wahl was born on December 8, 1974, in Mission County, Kansas, USA. Wahl graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School and began his education at Princeton University. During his first year at college, he managed the Princeton Tigers Men's Soccer Team, then coached by Bob Bradley, who would manage Major League Soccer teams and the United States National Team. Bradley provided Wahl with the opportunity to spend time with Boca Juniors where he trained in Argentina before returning to the United States for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Wahl stated that his experiences with Bradley were a catalyst in his love for the sport.

Wahl began his career as an intern for the Miami Herald in 1996. From there, he joined Sports Illustrated in November 1996, which covers college basketball and football. Wahl has appeared in 12 NCAA Basketball Tournaments, eight FIFA Men's World Cups, four FIFA Women's World Cups, and five Olympic games in his career. First, "Where's My Father?" (1998) documented the growing number of illegitimate children born to professional athletes. Since then, he has written numerous cover stories about athletes. He received the Magazine Story of the Year award from the USA Basketball Writers Association four times.

He was promoted to a senior writer position at Sports Illustrated in October 2000, where he mostly covered football. He wrote more than fifty cover letters for the magazine. In his first book, The Beckham Experiment (2009), Wahl talked about David Beckham's 2007 move from Major League Soccer to the LA Galaxy and its impact on the league. The book became a New York Times Best Seller. He joined CBS Sports on October 5, 2021, where he became an analyst and editorial consultant for football documentaries to be broadcast on Paramount+.

PRIVATE LIFE

Wahl was married to Celine Gounder, an American medical doctor and medical journalist. The couple married in 2001 after meeting at Princeton University, where they graduated.

WHY DID GRANT WAHL LOSE HIS LIFE?

Wahl, 48, who was following the organization held in Qatar, fell ill while the overtime parts of the match were played in the press tribune of the Lusail Stadium. The American journalist, to whom the medical teams immediately intervened, could not be saved in the hospital where he was taken, despite all the interventions. In the statement made by the USA Football Federation, "As the federation family, we are sad to learn that we lost Grant Wahl. Grant made football the center of his life. We are devastated because his writings are no longer with us." Wahl, in an article on his website; shared that he did not feel well due to lack of sleep, high stress, and hard work, so he went to the health clinic at the FIFA Press Center. US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the department was in "close communication" with Wahl's family.