Biography
Bio for Antonio J. Soave
Antonio John Soave is a writer, author, television host, political commentator, international law journal editor, and global human rights advocate. He is also the Founder and Chairman of the Global Foundation for Peace through Soccer, a 501C3 non-profit organization that spreads a mission of peace through soccer around the world while teaching seminars on using sports as a means for combating violence, terrorism and extremism. In conjunction with the Global Foundation for Peace through Soccer, Antonio produces and hosts a television show for young people and their parents. This show, "The Soccer Academy," is broadcast on the entire LATV-KJLA network platform each week in over 45 cities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Antonio's film and documentary credits are numerous, totaling well over 55 different projects.
Since the late 1980s, Antonio has supported a variety of human rights causes around the globe, from condemning the violence in places such as Bosnia and Rwanda, to opposing oppressive government policies in apartheid-era South Africa and dictatorship-era Nicaragua. Antonio was the founder and the first Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of International Law & Practice at the Detroit College of Law (now the Michigan State University School of Law). He also worked as an intern at The White House under President Ronald Reagan in 1987 in the Office of Public Liaison's Department of Foreign Policy and Defense. He wrote a political biography about the first democratically elected president of Croatia in the modern era, "My Beloved Croatia: Franjo Tudjman," and he has authored countless white papers and articles including a most recent one that was presented to the World Affairs Council in 2020 entitled: "What's Flowing in the Nile River? Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and Aswan: The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD); Water Disputes in the Middle East Africa (MEA) Region and Beyond."
Antonio is a former high school All-American player who has played in Europe and has conducted soccer missions in Latin America. He was High School All American soccer player in Michigan (1st Team All American as selected by both Parade Magazine and Adidas Scholastic Coach Magazine). He went on to train and study in the Italian Serie A (Premier Division) with the team Lazio.
Antonio coached college soccer at the NCAA DIII level in Ohio (Franciscan University in Steubenville), as well as at the NAIA level (DII) in Florida (Ave Maria University).
Antonio is an International Advisory Council member of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). He has served on that board since 2014. USIP is an independent, nonpartisan institution established and funded by Congress to increase the nation's capacity to manage international conflict without violence.
In 1998, Antonio teamed up with the Walt Disney World® Resort to create the World Youth Soccer Academy(TM) at Disney's Wide World of Sports® Complex. This was a four-year operation that led to the creation of a worldwide youth soccer camp, as well as a children's television program, a line of sports gear for kids, and an Internet portal for international understanding.
During the early years of his professional career, Antonio was an adjunct professor of international economics and finance at the Walsh College of Business in Troy, Michigan.
Antonio has a B.A. in International Studies from The American University in Washington, D.C., a Juris Doctor from the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University, and a LLM (Master of Laws) in International Law from the University of San Diego. Antonio has written and published extensively, and he continues to do so to this day.
