Wahl to receive U.S. Soccer award posthumously

The late Grant Wahl will be honored with this year’s Colin Jose Media Award — given to journalists who made long-term contributions to soccer in the United States — and a seat will be saved for him in the press box for every home U.S. men’s and women’s game between now and the 2026 World Cup.

Wahl died at age 49 on Dec. 10 after collapsing while covering the World Cup quarterfinal between Argentina and the Netherlands at Lusail, Qatar.

– Echegaray: A tribute to Grant Wahl and his legacy

Wahl will be honored at the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame induction at Frisco, Texas, on May 6, the hall said Wednesday. Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Lauren Cheney Holiday, Kate Sobrero Markgraf, former U.S. women’s coach Jill Ellis and Steve Zungul will be inducted into the hall.

The National Soccer Hall of Fame tweeted: “He dedicated his life to growing the game and left an indelible legacy on American soccer. Grant Wahl has been named the recipient of the 2023 Colin Jose Media Award.”

In addition, U.S. Soccer announced that a seat with a Wahl jersey and flowers would be set aside for him in the press boxes for all home U.S. men’s and women’s games ahead of the 2026 World Cup in North America, beginning with Wednesday’s USMNT game against Serbia in Los Angeles.

https://t.co/Vwf5pnZVIX pic.twitter.com/PGTVEEkpgm

— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) January 26, 2023

Wahl worked for Sports Illustrated from 1996 to 2021, covering soccer and college basketball, then started his own website. He also worked for Fox and CBS, and he wrote the books “The Beckham Experiment,” about England star David Beckham’s move to Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy, and “Masters of Modern Soccer.”

An autopsy by the New York City medical examiner’s office determined Wahl died from an aortic aneurysm.

The award, first given in 2004, is named after the Hall’s historian emeritus.