BALTIMORE — Before he was covering the World Cup in Qatar, Grant Wahl lived in Fells Point in the late 2000s and early 2010s with his wife Dr. Celine Gounder.
During this time, he was already established at Sports Illustrated and claimed the Slaínte Irish Pub and Restaurant in Fells Point as his soccer home according to Craig Willinger Fund (CWFund) chairperson Emily Agueda.
It was at this pub that he wrote stories, watched midweek Champions League matches and launched his first book THE BECKHAM EXPERIMENT: How the World’s Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America.
This is also where Wahl met CWFund founder Craig Willinger.
Willinger was diagnosed with terminal chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2007. He passed away in 2012, but not before sharing with Wahl that his dream was to provide world-class soccer experiences to other fans with cancer.
“Grant Wahl was a constant means of support to the Craig Willinger Fund from our early days in 2009,” shared Agueda. “He helped launch our charity with a book launch event and fundraiser at Slaínte, elevated awareness of our organization through his stories and interviews about our mission and honorees, and selflessly shared his industry connections with us, opening numerous doors. It is impossible to measure the loss to the soccer community from Grant’s death at 49 years of age. We can only hope that the stories of Grant’s excellence and generosity are a comfort to Céline, his brother Eric, and all who loved him.”
Wahl died at the age of 49 while covering the Argentina- Netherlands World Cup quarterfinal.
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The circumstances around his death were not immediately clear.
