Speaking to Sky Sports News at his Foundation’s Invitational event, Ebere Eze outlined why he loves giving back to the community in and around South London.
The Eze Invitational is a grassroots football tournament which has been hosted by the Eze Foundation at the end of every season for the past three years.
“Giving back has always been something that’s on our hearts,” Palace’s No. 10 explained.
“We want to expose them [young people playing in the Invitational] to football and to being at a professional club and not having to pay for anything, no stumbling blocks along the way that are stopping you from playing football, which is normally the case when you’re young or when you’re coming from difficult areas.
“I’m grateful to God to be in this position to do it because so many people would love to do things like this.”
The first ‘Eze Invitational Grassroots Football Tournament’ was held back in 2023 at the John Roan School playing fields in South London – the school pitches which Ebere and his brothers Kechi and Chima played on as children.
It has grown on a huge scale since, with each annual Invitational tournament getting bigger and bigger since.
“To be able to put on a tournament that’s just free for kids that can come and play and they can enjoy themselves, that’s something that we would have dreamed of as young kids.
“That’s the football side, but then also it’s just exposing them to opportunities outside of the world of football, outside of what is the norm in South London.
“I just thought [when I was younger], ‘I want to play football. I want to make it, I want to achieve my dream.’
“And it’s tough, because when I speak about it, I realise that a lot of it isn’t down to me. So I could easily be someone else, doing something else, or whatever, but this is the path that was made for me and it was my responsibility just to keep going, just to keep trying, to keep pursuing it.
“[To have] the ability to do things like this and to inspire people, that’s what I want to do and I’m so grateful for it.”
The third Eze Invitational took place at the Crystal Palace Academy, which was opened by former England manager and Palace captain Gareth Southgate.
Southgate himself came up through the ranks in south London, well before the state-of-the-art Category 1 Academy existed, and he was also managing Eze when he received his first-ever cap for England.
In his speech when he opened the Academy, Southgate highlighted the importance of having people to look up to, which Eze picked up upon: “That is something that we’re lacking massively – male role models.
“We’re looking for people that we can look up to, to actually show us what it means to be a man, what it means to strive for something, to become something, to make something of yourself.
“And that’s something that we’re definitely lacking now, which is why even in my position, maybe there’s certain things that I don’t want to do, but I feel the obligation to do because I understand what it means to people, what it means for a young person to be successful. How I live my life is important.
“People are watching and people look up to you. So again, it’s not even just to inspire people here. Other people that are in my position, I want them to see and to understand that – okay, this is what I’m doing, but really you should be doing it where you’re from.
“And we should all be trying to do the same type of thing and to inspire the youth and create a change, because it’s needed.”
The Eze Foundation also works closely with the club’s own charity, the Palace for Life Foundation, providing workshops alongside the Premier League. They also hold regular talks and workshops at Eze’s former school in South East London, the John Roan School, and career days have been held with numerous global brands.
