AMERICAN SOCCER JOURNALIST DIES IN QATAR
Well-known soccer journalist Grant Wahl has passed away.
The 49-year-old collapsed in a press room at a stadium during the quarterfinal match of the Fifa World Cup between Argentina and the Netherlands.
In a statement, Qatari officials said that Wahl “received immediate medical treatment on site, which continued as he was transferred by ambulance to Hamad General Hospital”.
Wahl, who had been tweeting during the match, was a renowned journalist in the United States soccer world and was respected by players, coaches and fellow journalists.
The U.S. Soccer Federation released a statement on Friday evening.
“The entire U.S. soccer family is heartbroken to learn that we have lost Grant Wahl. Fans of soccer and journalism of the highest quality knew we could always count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our game, and its major protagonists.”
On his podcast last week, Wahl shared his bronchitis diagnosis and blamed it on his hectic schedule while in Qatar.
“I took some time off here myself. We had two days here without games. Seventeen straight days of games and my body, I think, told, even when the U.S. went out, ‘Dude, you are not sleeping enough,; and it rebelled on me.”
He took some time off and slept the entire day in the hotel, but it still wasn’t enough for his body to recuperate.
Wahl turned 48 the day before his death.
Image credit: Marca