Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata recently blogged about his appearance at the Soccerex global convention to discuss his charity project Common Goal. The project, which Mats Hummels set up with him, sees the Spaniard donating one per cent of his salary to a collective charity fund this season.
Coverage of his philanthropy has been extensive world wide, and it’s led to Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe joining the cause.
The two United States Women’s National Team stars have signed up for Common Goal, and will thus donate 1% of their salaries to charity. That makes four football/soccer stars who have now become part of the movement.
‘It takes courage to stand up and bring the movement to US soil for the first time. Fortunately, courage is something both Megan and Alex have in spades,’ Mata stated.
Rapinoe, one of the USWNT’s best players, is also likely the most socially conscious. She recently came out as gay, and she is known for her Colin Kaepernick style kneeling for the United States national anthem as a form of protest. While Kaepernick kneeled to protest police brutality and injustices against African-Americans, Rapinoe kneeled as a call for equality to all people.
‘Common Goal is intended as an inclusive initiative, and myself and Alex felt it was important that women’s football was represented from the outset,’ says the Rapinoe statement. ‘We’re really looking forward to building the movement with Juan and Mats. Sky’s the limit at this stage.’
Morgan, the marketing face of the U.S. Women’s Soccer franchise, is also known for being political. She is among the group of USWNT players leading the push for equal pay.
‘As the global profile of women’s football continues to grow, players like myself and Megan will have an increasing number of opportunities to use our status for good,’ the Morgan statement reads.
‘I’m thrilled to join Common Goal at this early stage and hope we can inspire others to become part of the movement.’
Kudos to Juan Mata, Mats Hummels, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe. The quad are setting a fantastic example for the children.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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