William Leslie Poole

William Leslie Poole (England, November 7, 1866 – Montevideo, August 22, 1931) was an English immigrant to Uruguay who was important to the development of soccer in Uruguay and became known as the "Father of Uruguayan Soccer."

Poole was married to Ethel Maude Poole, who was born in England and died on December 21, 1916 in Montevideo, Uruguay. Poole was a Cambridge graduate who immigrated to Uruguay in 1885 to work as an English teacher at the English High School of Montevideo, where he was active until 1920.

By the time of his arrival, there were already some clubs practicing soccer informally in Uruguay such as the Montevideo Cricket Club, founded in 1861 (the first rugby club outside the United Kingdom), and the Montevideo Rowing Club, founded in 1874.

In his spare time, Poole devoted his energy to disseminating and organizing the sport in Uruguay.

Henry Candid Lichtenberger, an 18-year-old man who was Poole's disciple, founded the first Uruguayan soccer team on June 1, 1886, the Club Albion. In its original statute, the Albion did not accept foreign players. The Football Association was characterized by having, as the major part of its associates, Uruguayan-born children of Anglo-Saxons.

Poole's legacy was to organize and professionalize the sport in Uruguay. Unlike Lichtenberger, Poole required the participation of both nationals and foreigners with no distinction of race, language, religion, political opinion or economic position. This mindset was incorporated into Uruguay's mentality.

Poole also acted not only as a player – being a frontline for the Uruguay National Team – but also as a referee and as the President of the Uruguayan Association Soccer League, founded on March 30, 1900, a precursor of today’s Uruguayan Soccer Association (Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol – AUF).

Poole also practiced rowing, cricket and rugby union, but his real passion was association soccer. In his free time, he used to take his students to practice in the Montevideo neighborhood of Punta Carretas, close to the current location of a shopping center.

The Montevideo city hall paid honor to Poole by dedicating a place called "Espacio Libre William Leslie Poole" between Constituyente and Vásquez avenues in the Uruguayan capital.