Last month, Common Goal – co-founded by Spanish footballer Juan Mata, partnered with the PFA to launch a landmark initiative aimed at strengthening and promoting the Football for Good movement across Australia.
The collaboration marked the first of its kind between Common Goal and a players’ association anywhere in the world and followed the growing presence of Common Goal in Australian football, with players such as Alex Brosque, Caitlin Foord, Aivi Luik, Angela Beard, Winonah Heatley, Izzy Dalton, Libby Copus-Brown and Alex Chidiac already committed as members.
But the new partnership aims to elevate Common Goal’s impact in the local game even more, with Mata describing the partnership at the launch as ‘an important day for football in Australia’.
Get involved with the Football for Good partnership here
“Today is a really special day and an important day for football in Australia,” Mata said at the launch of the collaboration.
“It’s the first time that Common Goal has an agreement with a Players Association anywhere in the world, so I’m very happy that it’s in Australia while I’m playing and living here.
“I think the sport has a lot of potential in this country. It can grow so much. It’s very relevant and very loved and played, but I think it can even grow more, [especially with] the impact that football has on people’s lives and that’s what we’ll try to do with this partnership with the PFA.
“We want to do it through the players and to inspire more players to join our movement and this a special day because this has been coming for a long time, a lot of conversations and ideas, phone calls, and today’s hopefully the start of a very inspiring beginning.”
PFA and Common Goal will work together to raise awareness for the Football For Good community among Australia’s socially conscious and community-minded footballers through the partnership; by organising ‘Football For Good’ events and fundraising initiatives, while leveraging the PFA’s Footballers’ Trust to identify community projects for player funding.
Australian footballers are invited to pledge 1% of their football earnings as Common Goal members or donate a chosen amount to an organisation of choice.
These organisations include John Moriarty Football, Football Empowerment, Reflect Forward, Pride Cup and One Ball among many other charities that players can support.
Click here to read more about the organisations players can support
The Spanish football legend was joined by Common Goal Co-Chair and former Matilda Moya Dodd, who also discussed how it’s inspiring to see more footballers follow in the footsteps of players like Mata and giving back to the Football for Good community.
“It’s a really engaging idea that anybody can give on per cent,” Dodd said.
“It feels like a very reachable, achievable thing to do, and so many players have decided, from the very top, to the kids coming through the ranks.
“I find it very inspiring to see the young players making decisions and taking responsibility for the game that they play, the state of the game and the state of the world that they live in.
Common Goal Advisory Co-Chair and founder of Football United Anne Bunde-Birouste, also spoke about her excitement for the new partnership and how Mata’s influence has helped grow the organisation’s presence down under.
“I always tried to build Common Goal’s presence in Australia and it’s been a bit of a challenge until Juan came to Australia and we were able to bring him in to help us try to make bigger things happen,” Bunde-Birouste said.
“It’s just so powerful to have players engage with the kids on the ground… and engaging players who are the stars and the inspirational power to these young and not so young people in our programs, it’s huge.
“Being able to work with the PFA just gives us a much wider breadth and an avenue for engaging these players, which we didn’t necessarily have before.”
SEE HOW THE LAUNCH TOOK PLACE BELOW
