The Kansas City Current is honoring one of the most influential members of the Kansas City and worldwide soccer community by naming the press box at CPKC Stadium the Grant Wahl Memorial Press Box.

What You Need To Know

  • The Kansas City Current is honoring one of the most influential members of the Kansas City and worldwide soccer community by naming the press box at CPKC Stadium the Grant Wahl Memorial Press Box

  • Grant's brother and wife were on hand for the dedication ceremony

  • Wahl died at age 49 from aortic aneurysm in Dec. 2022 while covering a World Cup match in Qatar

  • Wahl was a close friend and confidant of Current co-founders and owners Angie and Chris Long

To commemorate the moment and Wahl’s significant contributions, the Current hosted a small ceremony Thursday in which a memorial plaque was placed at the entrance to the press box.

"Many sports journalists will come and go from this press box, looking for and finding new stories to tell and I would like to think that knowledge of Grant's life, writing and commentating may compel them to dig deeper, to appreciate nuance, challenge assumption," said Eric Wahl, Gran't brother. 

“Grant and I were born and raised here in Kansas City and our lives were shaped by the sports culture in this region, but more specifically, by those who told those stories through the media,” said Wahl in a press release. "This is a great honor to our family."

Wahl died at age 49 from aortic aneurysm in Dec. 2022 while covering a World Cup match in Qatar. He received a bachelor's degree from Princenton where he met his wife before beginning his career at Sports Illustrated.

“My family and I are thankful that my husband Grant Wahl is being recognized in this way,” said Dr. Céline Gounder. “It is my hope that future generations of sports journalists sitting in this press box will be inspired to carry on Grant's legacy: holding those in power to account, advocating for human rights and equity and understanding that ‘stick to sports’ is a false mantra. As Ted Lasso said, ‘Soccer is life’. When sports are divorced from everything else in life, they are gutted of their essence and meaning.”

Wahl was a close friend and confidant of Current co-founders and owners Angie and Chris Long. He initially met Angie at Shawnee Mission East and Chris at Princeton. Their friendship with Wahl was pivotal to the launch of the Kansas City Current, a team in the National Women's Soccer League.

“Grant was one of the first people we consulted with the idea of founding an NWSL team in Kansas City,” said Angie Long in a statement. “His grounded advice, deep understanding of the soccer ecosystem, connections and thoughtful suggestions were critical ingredients to our decision to launch a new team on an unprecedented timeframe.”

“Giving us even more conviction around our facilities vision, Grant was particularly drawn to the idea of having the first stadium built for a women’s professional team right in his hometown of Kansas City,” said co-owner and founder Chris Long. “The Kansas City Current will always be grateful to Grant for his pivotal role in the launch of the Club.”

Wahl's love for soccer started with watching the KC Comets at Kemper Arena before covering the team at Princeton. During his time at Sports Illustrated, he wrote over 50 cover stories and covered every major soccer event around the world.

He left Sports Illustrated in 2020 and continued to cover worldwide soccer and the U.S. National Teams for his own website. He also provided his insights for Fox Sports, CBS Sports and numerous other outlets. During his career, he covered eight Men’s World Cups, four Women’s World Cups and five Olympic tournaments.

During every home match this past season, the Kansas City Current honored Wahl by placing a Grant Wahl Current custom jersey in a memorial seat in the press box.

The KC Current was founded in 2020. The team is building the first stadium purpose-built for a professional women's soccer team. It is expected to be done in 2024.