The conduit to freedom appears to be the game of soccer, however, after briefly speaking with Eddie Kingston, the conclusion is made that freedom comes from an indomitable spirit. The life-force of Eddie Kingston moved him out of the war torn country of Liberia only to return years later through a Play For Peace Foundation. The Foundation is designed to help kids find inspiration. “Our family escaped Liberia when I was about 12 years old,” said Eddie Kingston unpretentiously. “We lived at a refugee camp in Ghana for over 3 years.” After receiving Asylum status, the family came to America and the adventure for Eddie continued.

While on a soccer scholarship, Eddie Kingston earned a Criminal Justice degree and a Pre-law degree from the University of Illinois. He qualified as an All-American his Freshman, Sophomore, and Senior year. After college, he was recruited to play professional soccer. “I played professionally for 7 years,” said Kingston. “I played for clubs in the countries of Zagreb, Croatia, then 3 years in South East Asia.” Because Eddie Kingston played in Liberia when he was younger, he represented his home country of Liberia.

When asked how many languages he speaks, Kingston modestly remarks, “Five. I probably have a knack for learning different languages, but I had to work very hard to learn them because I had to know what the coaches were saying.” Kingston attributes his quick learning to the fact that words came easier while out on the soccer field where he could relate the words with an action.

“I played for Liberia between 2002 and 2004 in an International Soccer Competition, involving many countries,” said Kingston.  The invitation to play goes to a select group, the best and Eddie Kingston took the opportunity and worked hard to excel. Today, the efforts are aimed to succeed the Play for Peace Foundation, meant to bring soccer to kids in Liberia, showing them there are positive things to do in life.

Today, to give back to the world, Eddie Kingston is devoted to Play for Peace.