CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:

GRANT WAHL

Few individuals have impacted the growth of soccer in America more than Grant Wahl. What makes his influence even more incredible is that he was neither a coach nor a player. He wasn’t even an executive. Instead, Wahl is the single most prolific writer to cover the game for the most important sports publication — Sports Illustrated — at a time when the building blocks of soccer’s popularity were being put in place.

From the time he joined SI in the late 90s until his tragic passing in 2002, Wahl became a trusted voice for stories surrounding soccer globally and its evolution domestically as well. In a new book, “World Class,” editors Alexander Wolff and Mark Mravic curate his best work and provide insight as to how his journalist genius helps advance the craft and the sport of soccer in America.

A long time colleague of Wahl’s at SI, Wolff joined Founding Futbol to share memories of his friend, discuss how they approached editing the book and so much more.