Welcome to Fútbol with Grant Wahl!
Subscribe now for quality soccer journalism.
I’ve got big news!
Today I’m starting the next phase of my journalism career and launching a newsletter called Fútbol with Grant Wahl. It’s the new home for my soccer writing after I spent the last 25 years at Sports Illustrated, and I hope you decide to join our growing community.
Why am I so excited about this newsletter? It’s going to allow me to give you the things I do best. I’ll travel the globe to tell you the most compelling stories from the world’s game, men’s and women’s, from the United States and abroad. I’ll be on the ground providing quality coverage of the biggest events, including World Cups and all 14 USMNT World Cup qualifiers over the next seven months. I’ll be continuing the podcast that so many of you already listen to, with fun takes on the week in soccer and in-depth interviews of the sport’s most intriguing figures, at least twice every week. I’ll provide analysis, break news and write a weekly mailbag column answering your questions. We’ll also start group discussions on what’s happening in a soccer world that never stops.
The operative word for this newsletter is quality. For the past year, as I finished up at SI, started my twice-weekly podcast and created an eight-episode podcast series on the Freddy Adu story, I’ve been seeking a platform that would allow me to tell stories that people are going to remember, to have real conversations with soccer people, to interact with thoughtful soccer fans and to avoid the clicks-based hamster wheel that defines so much of modern media.
I’ve found that platform, and this is it.
Do you want to read an in-depth magazine-style story from Leipzig, Germany, on the groundbreaking path of American soccer coach Jesse Marsch? This is your place. Do you want to experience the fearsome cauldron the USMNT faces next week in El Salvador and Honduras in World Cup qualifying? This is your place. Do you want to listen to (and read) revealing podcast interviews with the likes of Jürgen Klopp, Jason Sudeikis, Crystal Dunn, Gio Reyna and a host of soccer figures from around the world? This is your place.
Since 1996, I have documented the remarkable growth of soccer in the United States. This country has gone from being one of the world’s worst countries in which to watch soccer on television to one of the best. I have written the first soccer book to make the New York Times Best Seller list (The Beckham Experiment), have covered 12 World Cups—seven men’s, five women’s—and have interviewed the biggest names in our sport. I can’t wait to keep doing that here as the U.S. prepares to co-host the World Cup in 2026.
One thing I have realized is that in today’s media landscape I need to be associated with quality, and that means paid subscriptions. For the full experience of this newsletter, I’m asking you to support me directly, paying $6 a month or $50 a year. You’ll get all my on-location journalism, plus participation in discussion threads, written versions of my podcast interviews and additional opportunities for more direct interactions. And for those of you who like my writing but are unable to subscribe, you’ll still be able to read at least one post per week and listen to my audio podcasts for free. All it takes is an email address to sign up.
We’re launching this newsletter with a bang, featuring a blockbuster story on Jesse Marsch on Wednesday and on-site USMNT World Cup qualifying coverage from San Salvador, Nashville and San Pedro Sula starting next week. I hope you join me for the ride. Thanks so much for your support!