In Memory of Grant Wahl 1973 – 2022
BALTIMORE, MD – Grant Wahl was a proud midwesterner from Kansas. He lived a robust life with his wife Dr. Céline Gounder and dogs Coco and Zizou in New York City. But we claim him as one of our own: a Baltimorean.
Grant and Céline called Fells Point home during her time as a postdoctoral fellow and research associate at Johns Hopkins University in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Already established at Sports Illustrated as the pre-eminent voice of international soccer in the United States, Grant claimed Slaínte Irish Pub and Restaurant in Fells Point as his soccer home. From the pub, Grant wrote stories, watched midweek Champions League matches with diehard fans, and launched his first book The Beckham Experiment: How the World’s Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America. Slaínte was also the place where Grant sealed his friendship with our founder Craig Willinger.
Craig was diagnosed with terminal chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2007. A lifelong soccer fan, Craig used soccer as a source of joy and escape during his diagnosis and treatment until he passed away in 2012. After receiving a gift of a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Allianz Field–the home of Bayern Munich–from a local Liverpool FC supporters club, Craig shared with Grant his dream 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 founding member and CWFund chairperson Emily 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.”
The Craig Willinger Fund, formed in 2009, seeks to improve the lives of children and young adults stricken with cancer and other critical illnesses by providing once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to experience world-class soccer—both domestically and abroad. Since 2010, fifteen honorees have traveled to South Africa, Barcelona, Milan, London, Madrid, New York City, Kansas City, Washington D.C., Orlando, Manchester (UK), Leicester (UK), and Brazil, including two World Cup tournaments and a UEFA Champions League Final.