Eze does it – Palace star’s stepping-stone foundation for youngsters

Crystal Palace and England star Eberechi Eze has proudly announced the formal establishment of The Eze Foundation.

It is a charitable foundation committed to providing career-enhancing opportunities and inspirational experiences for schoolchildren in the capital.

The Eze Foundation recognises the need to make a positive impact for children away from the football pitch, as well as on it.

The key goals of the foundation are to open up internship and work experience opportunities for children who may not usually have the exposure or education for such chances.

The foundation will collaborate with schools, brands and organisations to create work experience opportunities for children attending schools in London.

It also aims to build on last summer’s first inaugural Eze Invitational. continuing the yearly event in which children from London are invited to a free football tournament in South East London.

The event is well supported, with scouts from Premier League clubs present and support from brands including New Balance, Meta and more.

The Eze Foundation’s credo is that every child ‘deserves the opportunity to dream big’  regardless of their background, race or religion.

“We aim to help children open their eyes to the opportunities that are out there and help inspire them to pursue avenues they are passionate about in order to build successful careers.”

The 25-year-old Eagles playmaker, who was born in Greenwich, said: “I’m humbled and truly grateful to share my foundation and the work we are doing.

“Growing up in South-east London, myself, my sister, my brothers and so many others would have benefited from the opportunities we are trying to create.

“Football has always been my dream, but I also feel a duty to try to give back to our community in a way that is close to my heart.

“I am very thankful that I have a platform that can help me help other people, and I don’t want this privilege to go to waste.”

The Crystal Palace midfielder added: “We have been operating for almost a year now and I’m incredibly proud of what we have done so far, such as the Eze Invitational free football tournament, our school raffles and training ground visits with the club. I can’t wait to share more of our plans and announcements in the near future.”

Pictured top: Eze celebrates scoring for Palace against Sheffield United this week (Picture: Keith Gillard)