In their announcement of coverage for this round of Concacaf World Cup qualifiers, CBS Sports dropped an interesting nugget: the network had hired Grant Wahl, the long-time Sports Illustrated writer and former Fox Sports contributor, as an analyst. Wahl will also serve as an “editorial consultant” on an upcoming docuseries.
Additionally, Grant Wahl joins CBS Sports as an analyst and editorial consultant. Wahl will provide on-site recaps of U.S. Men’s National Team matches throughout the Qualifiers and serve as an editorial consultant for the Paramount+ original documentary series Stories from the Beautiful Game. Wahl, a longtime soccer journalist, covered the sport for Sports Illustrated for 25 years and spent seven years at Fox Sports. He is a New York Times best-selling author and host of the “Fútbol with Grant Wahl” podcast and newsletter.
Wahl also tweeted about his new gig.
Thrilled to announce that I have joined CBS Sports as a TV analyst and editorial consultant for original soccer documentaries. Vamos! https://t.co/NcYnTWdq1L
— Subscribe to GrantWahl.com (@GrantWahl) October 5, 2021
Last month, Meadowlark announced that Wahl will host a USMNT-focused podcast, along with Landon Donovan and Chris Wittyngham.
Because of the (quite frankly) absurd way that USMNT rights are dished out, CBS Sports and Paramount+ will only air one of the three qualifiers this cycle, which Wahl will not be on-site for – Saturday’s match in Panama. Thursday’s match against Jamaica in Texas and Wednesday’s match with Costa Rica in Ohio will both be aired on ESPN2 (and in Spanish on TUDN). Wahl will be on-site for the two games hosted domestically, while Jenny Chiu (working in the studio during the USMNT’s Jamaica and Costa Rica matches) will report on the match in Panama.
Whew. That’s a lot. But the continued commitment to soccer from CBS Sports should be applauded, and the wide swath of their coverage ensures they’re not going long without live matches. Given the chaotic worldwide soccer calendar, that’s not an easy feat.
