Editors’ note: This story has been updated to reflect that Grant Wahl turned 49 on Dec. 2.
Bob Bradley, the head coach and sporting director for MLS franchise Toronto FC, honored the acclaimed journalist and former Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl with a tribute on Saturday.
Wahl died unexpectedly Friday while covering the World Cup in Qatar. He was 49. Wahl and Bradley are both graduates of Princeton University. Bradley earned his degree in 1980, and Wahl graduated in ’96.
Bradley, the former head coach of the U.S. men’s national team, has coached at the collegiate, professional and international levels, accruing numerous awards and honors in the process. The longtime soccer coach first met Wahl in 1993 while coaching the Princeton men’s soccer team.
At the time, Wahl was a sophomore sports writer at Princeton. In his tribute, Bradley described Wahl as “smart,” “curious” and a “brilliant writer” who was “still learning about soccer.”
Bradley even recounted Wahl’s passion to become a staff writer at SI and to elevate in his craft in college basketball and soccer. “To be the next Frank Deford. E.M. Swift. Alexander Wolff,” Bradley said in the statement. “It was amazing to see him establish himself with his writing and reporting in the game of soccer. His way of telling beautiful stories while also digging deep into the most difficult issues in the game around the world highlighted his integrity and values.”
Wahl spent 24 years at SI, starting in November ’96. He quickly worked his way up to becoming a senior writer for the publication in 2000 and ultimately became one of the nation’s top soccer media figures.
While Wahl was “fearless” in his pursuit of the truth, Bradley stated that the renowned writer was a “huge supporter” of women’s soccer and defender LGBTQIA+ rights. Most recently, he examined the plight of migrant workers in Qatar.
“Grant will be missed by so many, and thoughts and prayers go out to Celine and his family and friends,” Bradley said.
After Wahl’s tenure at SI ended in ‘20, he continued his soccer coverage with his Substack, “Fútbol With Grant Wahl,” in addition to working for Meadowlark Media. He also worked with Fox Sports as an on-air soccer personality for seven years and wrote three books on the sport: The Beckham Experiment, Masters of Modern Soccer and Football 2.0.
Wahl is survived by his wife, Dr. Céline Gounder, and two dogs, Zizou (named after French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane) and Coco.
