The Eddie Pope
Foundation is the result of a vision held by Eddie Pope.
Eddie is a member of both the 1998 and 2002 United States
Men’s National soccer team and the Real Salt Lake professional
soccer team. His passion and dedication to the game have
materialized into many awards and credits. However, in addition
to loving the game of soccer, Eddie also has a great love
for children, especially those children who face special
challenges.
 In
1997 Eddie Pope began thinking of an organization that would
bring soccer to inner city youths. He wanted to bring soccer
to children who, without financial and organizational support,
would not be able to participate in this team sport which
produces so many rewards and benefits. In particular, he
wanted underserved youth to have the opportunity to experience
a sport that demands a lot but gives back so much more.
In the fall of 1997 Eddie Pope, with the help of Adidas began the
Eddie Pope Community Soccer League (now the Eddie Pope Urban Soccer
League) in Washington DC. By the fall of 1998 it was obvious that
the program was growing and succeeding and two things became clear
to Eddie: 1. there was much more work to be done with the league and
2. there were other areas (i.e. education, community building) that
could be expanded upon using soccer as the vehicle. Eddie envisioned
using soccer as part of a two prong approach. First, the sport would
provide an arena in which children would learn teamwork and the
importance of physical fitness. They would experience being a part
of something that would give them a sense of personal achievement as
well as the experience of being a vital part of a whole. The second
part of the program would take these same children and place them in
educational settings where they would learn about social
and personal responsibility; nutrition; community
involvement; career development; and the importance of education.
Eddie wanted a program that would encompass all of these much needed
life lessons in the spirit of fun, family, and community. The work
that needed to be done made a formal organizational structure a
necessity and on December 24, 1998 the Eddie Pope Foundation, Inc.
was created.
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