November 30 – UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin has become the latest high profile football personality to pledge 1% of his salary to the Common Goal movement.
Common Goal, co-founded four months ago by Manchester United star Juan Mata and Streetfootballworld CEO Jürgen Griesbeck, funds football charities worldwide via the 1% salary donations from an increasing number of high profile, high paid players.
The objective is to fund high-impact social projects and create a “sustainable connection between the revenue generated by football and the social impact created through football.”
Čeferin, who this week was also elected as President of the UEFA Foundation for Children, said: “I firmly believe that football has the power to change the world and I was inspired by Juan Mata to join the Common Goal project. It’s great to see a player leading this movement because footballers have benefitted greatly from football and this way they can give something back.
“I call upon everyone in the international football community – players, coaches, clubs and leagues – to show they care about social initiatives and donate to causes that they believe in.”
So far more than 30 players – including Mats Hummels (the first player to join Mata), Giorgio Chiellini, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Vero Boquete, Serge Gnabry and Shinji Kagawa – announced their support for the project.
“Football aligned behind a shared vision for good can be incredibly impactful,” said Greisbeck. “If everyone gets behind Common Goal, in one way or another, we could change the lives of tens of millions of people across the globe, thanks to a common passion for the game.”
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