Officially, the portion of the book “World Class” that was composed by Grant Wahl concludes after 313 pages, but those of us who know his work are well aware a “best-of” compilation of the articles and columns he wrote for Sports Illustrated and his own web site could have rivaled any Jonathan Franzen novel for page count.
Wahl’s wife, Dr. Celine Gounder, wrote the touching foreword to “World Class”, and the book was edited by his former SI colleagues Mark Mravic and Alexander Wolff. This is a collection of Wahl’s most lasting work, including the final piece he ever composed, written about the insolent reaction of a Qatari official to the workplace death of a foreign worker during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
“We’re in the middle of a World Cup, and we have a successful World Cup. And this is something that you want to talk about right now?” Nasser Al-Khater said in an interview with the BBC. “I mean, death is a natural part of life, whether it’s at work, whether it’s in your sleep. Of course, a worker died. Our condolences go to his family. However, it’s strange that this is something that you wanted to focus on as your first question.”
This callous response provoked a powerful admonition from Wahl, in a column headlined, “They Just…
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://womenssportsnow.com/he-was-the-best-of-us-world-class-book-of-grant-wahls-work-reminds-us-of-his-impact-on-soccer/&media=https://womenssportsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Grant-Wahl-120922.jpg&description=Grant Wahl was a courageous journalist, a pioneer in covering soccer in American and one of the key figures in the sport's American growth story. With the publication of "World Class", a collection of his finest work, his colleagues in the media offered their appreciation of what he meant to the sport and their business.Grant Wahl was a courageous journalist, a pioneer in covering soccer in American and one of the key figures in the sport's American growth story. With the publication of "World Class", a collection of his finest work, his colleagues in the media offered their appreciation of what he meant to the sport and their business.){kind=link}