What is Common Goal? Juan Mata’s charitable initiative explained – football news

Global football is more awash with money than ever.

And Manchester United star Juan Mata is leading a drive to give back to the communities that raised today’s stars by redistributing a small percentage of those resources to charitable causes around the world.

The initiative has been dubbed Common Goal, and GBP Sports has all the information you need to know about how it works.

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What is Common Goal?

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Common Goal is a charitable movement run by streetfootballworld that was launched with the support of Mata.

Mata announced in an article for The Players’ Tribune that he was pledging one per cent of his salary to Common Goal, and called for other players to do the same.

That money will be put towards “high-impact football charities from around the world”.

Streetfootballworld has built an international network of 120 such organisations that “tackle social issues ranging from gender equality in India to peacebuilding in Colombia to refugee integration in Germany”.

The long-term aim is to “unlock 1% of the entire football industry’s revenues for grassroots football charities that strengthen their communities through sport”.

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Which players have signed up?

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The list of players, coaches and high-profile figures to have joined Mata in pledging at least 1% of their salaries to Common Goal continues to grow.

Among those on board are Italy and Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini and USA and Orlando Pride forward Alex Morgan.

“The fact that we have added another three players to Common Goal in the last 11 days shows the growing potential of this movement,” Mata said after Stuttgart’s Dennis Aogo pledged 2% of his earnings to the cause.

“I believe more than ever before that football can change the world. But, just like on the pitch, we need to work together. This is exactly what we’re doing with Common Goal.”

FIFA 19 virtual star Alex Hunter has also joined the initiative, having made a donation to the cause.

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It’s a big day as Alex Hunter, virtual star of @EASPORTSFIFA, becomes a Common Goal player! Hear what he has to say and see welcome messages from some of his new teammates! @EA will back Alex Hunter’s pledge with a donation to the movement: https://t.co/cSoexHJlcu pic.twitter.com/VI2a3p5NQY
— Common Goal (@CommonGoalOrg) October 5, 2018

Male players, coaches and high-profile figures:

Player / Coach	Team / Nationality
Juan Mata	Manchester United / Spain
Mats Hummels	Bayern Munich / Germany
Giorgio Chiellini	Juventus / Italy
Dennis Aogo	Stuttgart / Germany
Alfie Mawson	Swansea City / England
Charlie Daniels	Bournemouth / England
Alex Brosque	Sydney / Australia
Julian Nagelsmann	Hoffenheim / Germany
Hasan Ali Kaldirim	Fenerbahce / Turkey
Serge Gnabry	Hoffenheim / Germany
Shinji Kagawa	Borussia Dortmund / Japan
Aleksander Ceferin	UEFA president
Alex Hunter (virtual)	Real Madrid / England  (FIFA 19)

Female players and coaches:

Player / Coach	Team / Nationality
Megan Rapinoe	Seattle Reign / USA
Alex Morgan	Orlando Pride / USA
Heather O’Reilly	Arsenal / USA
Olga Garcia	Barcelona / Spain
Jean Sseninde	Crystal Palace / Uganda
Pauline Bremer	Manchester City / Germany
Vero Boquete	PSG / Spain
Nicole Regnier	America de Cali / Colombia

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How much money will they be donating?

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Each player and coach that has signed up has pledged to donate at least 1% of their salary. Some players may donate more than that – including Aogo, who has pledged 2%.

Mata reportedly earns £140,000 a week at United, which will mean he is donating £72,800 each year.

His contribution combined with those of Chiellini and Mats Hummels should put Common Goal around the £200,000-a-year mark straight off the bat, and may make £500,000 a feasible target in year one.

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Which charities are being supported?

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Streetfootballworld, the organisation behind Common Goal, has spent 15 years assembling a global network of football charities and partners in numerous countries around the world.

They include everything from Albion In The Community, which is Premier League club Brighton’s charity arm, to Fotbal Pro Rozvoj, which works with at-risk children and young people in the Czech Republic.

The funds raised through the Common Goal initiative will be used to continue to support these projects.