Grant Wahl is everywhere at the moment, from Bloomberg TV and CNN International, to BBC and international outlets of the soccer/football variety. He was also kind enough to give me some of his time to talk about his candidacy for the presidency of FIFA, a conversation that covered just how serious this thing is, how making himself the story fits with his role at SI, the various planks of his platform (including the two women he believes are qualified to be General Secretary), and the response to his bid from around the world.

- Jason Davis

It's lunchtime in America (or was when I started this), and soccer fans everywhere are lining up to support Grant Wahl's newly announced candidacy for FIFA president. It's time for a new voice. An outsider. A guy whose name doesn't rhyme with "splatter" or "pin yuh mom." A guy with an amusing campaign video and a shiny bald head. Really, anyone but the usual suspects will do, making Grant Wahl a perfect candidate.


Wahl says he's serious, that it's not a joke candidacy,  isn't a wacky bit in the vein of the Morning Zoo DJ who ran for mayor. Journalists have ascended to the heights of sports governing bodies before (as he mentiones), so why not Grant, a man with years of experience covering soccer for Sports Illustrated, as FIFA president? No offense to our own Chris Ballard, who is offering cookies as part of his  platform, but Wahl has the chops to make this (somewhat) believable.

-Chris Ballard

When I logged onto my Twitter account this morning I saw talk about an article written by Grant Wahl regarding the FIFA Presidency. Having an interest in the matter, I zipped over to Sports Illustrated’s website to have a look. And I was outraged. Outraged, I tell you. Essentially, Wahl has thrown his hat into the ring for the presidential elections in June. This would be okay, except…I’ve already done that. In December.

As American soccer fans, it's probably about time we moved on from last week's bid disaster. What's done is done, whining about it isn't going to change anything.


Any fallout to come from what is either FIFA business as usual or the final malfeasant straw won't be our doing; for all the marketing clout contained within American borders, US Soccer is hardly in a place to leverage it. Major League Soccer cannot afford any sanctions taken should our federation make some anti-corruption stand. Unless England chooses the nuclear option and pulls out of FIFA and invites the US to come along, there isn't much to consider. Soccer in the US can't afford our going rogue.

The Ginge and I got together for a special edition of the American Soccer Show, and managed to track down preeminent soccer writer Grant Wahl in the process. Grant gives us his take on USMNT camp to this point, plus some thoughts on Henry coming to America.

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