Grant Wahl, a well-known American journalist, passes away in Qatar after collapsing while covering the World Cup, sending shockwaves across the sports community.
He “collapsed,” a witness told CNN while covering the Argentina-Netherlands game on Friday.
Wahl “fell ill” in the press area, where he received “immediate medical treatment on-site,” according to Qatar’s World Cup organizers on Saturday. According to a representative for the Supreme Court Committee for Delivery and Legacy, the organization in charge of organizing the competition, he was afterward transported to Hamad General Hospital.
It’s unclear what exactly happened to cause his death.
“The entire US Soccer family is heartbroken to learn that we have lost Grant Wahl,” US Soccer said in a statement on its official Twitter account.
“Grant made soccer his life’s work, and we are devastated that he and his brilliant writing will no longer be with us.”
US Soccer expressed their sympathies to Wahl’s wife, Celine Gounder, and other family members while praising Wahl’s drive and “belief in the power of the game to advance human rights.”
The US Soccer message was also shared on Twitter by Gounder.
“I am so thankful for the support of my husband Grant Wahl’s soccer family and of so many friends who’ve reached out tonight. I’m in complete shock,” stated Gounder, a longtime CNN commentator and member of the Covid-19 advisory group for the Biden-Harris transition.
Ned Price, a spokesman for the US State Department, said the agency was in “close communication” with Wahl’s family. In order to “ensure the procedure of repatriating the body is in accordance with the family’s wishes,” the World Cup organizers added that they were in contact with the US embassy.
“It had gotten pretty bad in terms of like the tightness in my chest”
He had expressed feeling unwell in a Futbol with Grant Wahl episode that was released just days before he passed away.
“It had gotten pretty bad in terms of like the tightness in my chest, tightness, pressure. Feeling pretty hairy, bad,” I’m feeling very hairy, awful.
He said, “I thought I had bronchitis, so I went to the medical clinic in the World Cup media center.”
He was given ibuprofen and cough medicine, and he claims to have felt better soon after.
A “voluntary capitulation by my body and mind,” according to Wahl, occurred following the US-Netherlands match on December 3.
At the time, he stated, “I’ve completed eight of these on the men’s side. “And so like, I’ve gotten sick to some extent at every tournament, and it’s just about trying to find a way to like get your work done.”
In a recent newsletter that was released on December 5, he went on to further detail the occurrence, claiming that his body had “broken down” as a result of lack of sleep, excessive levels of stress, and a demanding job. He claimed that after suffering from a cold for ten days, it “turned into something more severe,” and that he felt better after taking medication and getting some rest.
By claiming that he had been held and momentarily denied access to a World Cup game because he was sporting a rainbow t-shirt in support of LGBTQ rights, Wahl had made headlines in November.
Wahl later admitted to CNN that he “probably will” wear the shirt once more.