Common Goal (charity)

Common Goal is a pledge-based charitable movement by streetfootballworld for the football industry, that was launched with the support of Spanish footballer, Juan Mata.[4]

Common Goal

Founded	4 August 2017 (2017-08-04)[1]
Founders	Jürgen Griesbeck[2] Juan Mata (co-founder)[2]
Type	Fundraising
Legal status	Active
Focus	"We’re uniting the world of professional footballers behind a shared commitment to give back to society."[3]
Website	www.common-goal.org

The movement encourages professional football players and coaches to pledge at least one percent of their salaries to a collective fund that supports football charities around the world.[5]

On 29 November 2017, UEFA president, Aleksander Čeferin became the first football leader to join Common Goal. Čeferin believes that football has the power to change the world and he was inspired by Juan Mata to join this movement. He also called on his fellow football players, coaches, clubs and leagues to show if they care about social responsibility.[6]

On 18 January 2018, AFC executive committee member, Moya Dodd joins Common Goal and she will be taking on a role as the management committee of this movement where she will be working to allocate money to various football programs across the globe. Dodd believes that football encourages us to be a better human beings and now she is going to make the world better through football.[7]

On 21 May 2018, FC Nordsjælland become the first football club to join Common Goal. The club's CEO, Søren Kristensen says that they would like to make a difference to others through football, whether it is regarding gender equality or developing young people and football players.[8] Additionally, the entire ten member management, club chairman and backroom staff has pledged one percent of their salary. All players and administrative staff contracts include the same pledge with an ability to opt-out.

On 30 August 2018, Banco Santander become the first sponsor of the UEFA Champions League to support Common Goal and will work together over the next three years to use football to support financial inclusion.[9][10]

On 5 October 2018, Alex Hunter, a popular fictional character in the FIFA video game series, has partnered with the Common Goal as part of a partnership with EA Sports. The partnership will see Common Goal included in the FIFA 19 as players will have the chance to join up with the charity as part of "The Journey", a mode which sees players take control of Hunter's rise through the professional game.[11] EA Sports has also donated $200,000 in support of this movement and its capacity to drive progress towards achieving the UN Global Goals with the aid of football.[12]

On 17 January 2019, the Manchester United Supporters' Trust became the first supporters trust in the world to sign up and make the pledge to Common Goal. M.U.S.T members will be donating 1% of their membership fees to this movement but perhaps more importantly they will be helping to promote Common Goal to the wider global Manchester United supporter base, and through the other fan organisations.[13]

In May 2019, Australia women's players, Aivi Luik and Alex Chidiac became the 99th and 100th players to join Common Goal, making the men and women ratio equal.[14]

On 23 September 2019, Jürgen Klopp has become the latest high-profile person and also the first Premier League coach to join Common Goal. He made the announcement during his speech as he collected the Men's Coach of the Year prize at the Best FIFA Football Awards in Milan, Italy. The current Liverpool coach used the moment to share the news that he will pledge 1% of his annual salary to the movement of professionals in the football industry changing the lives of disadvantaged young people all over the world.[15][16]