ELIJAH Howe began playing soccer as an 11-year-old in Canberra. These days the 22-year old plays in the US National Premier Soccer League as captain of the Jacksonville Armada and was its most valuable player last year.  

“I think getting a little push from dad, because he played professional soccer for the Canberra Cosmos when he was younger. He loves it to his core and his love of it made me love it as well,” he says.

“And mum was obviously supportive of whatever I wanted to do.”

He’s played for Gungahlin United Football Club, Belconnen United and the Monaro Panthers, which he still refers to as his current Canberra club.

“I wanted to pursue soccer once I finished school and I also really cared about furthering my education, so when I heard that you could go over to the [United] States and play soccer, and in return your academic side is covered financially, it just seemed like a no brainer.”

In August, 2018, Eli started his bachelor of economics degree at a small business school in Wilmington, Delaware, called Goldey Beacom College, and in August, 2020, moved to Pensacola, Florida, to continue his degree, attending the University of West Florida.

“My college team had been in six of the last seven grand finals for our conference championships and hadn’t won. We weren’t expected to win anything, and we ended up winning the whole thing, the conference, grand final and our first championship in eight or nine years.”

Eli says that it was an unbelievable feeling, playing his fourth year of soccer in the US. He also spent 2021 playing in the National Premier Soccer League as captain of the Jacksonville Armada.

“They have a really strong band of supporters who come to all the games, and they put on awards at the end of each year with some of the coaches,” he says.

“I was lucky enough to be voted most valuable player on behalf of the organisation and in the minds of the coaches as well which was really special and something I was really grateful for.”

Eli is now looking for a school to do his masters degree.

“The entire process is just so exciting because I’ve been working hard for four years academically and athletically to be able to give myself the best possible opportunity,” he says.

While playing soccer and winning awards is a dream come true for Eli, he misses his life “back home in Canberra”.

“My family is the obvious answer.

“If I come back to Australia to live in the near future then I would certainly like to play for Monaro again. I would love to move back to Australia, but it will definitely depend on whether job opportunities present themselves.”

He also misses Australian food.

“You really don’t realise just how good the food in Australia is until you’ve been deprived of it for a long time. Same for the coffee!”

The main goal, as he returns to the US, is to play soccer professionally and he’d love to continue playing with Jacksonville Armada if the opportunity arises, but he knows everyone who plays soccer at his age wants a similar thing.

“I’d be really interested in consulting on the efficiency of businesses, and that’s why I chose economics. I’d love to go into some sort of consultancy job where I’d be able to advise companies on how to save money or if it’s a government department, how they could become more efficient and save taxpayers’ money.”