Shinji Kagawa Becomes First Asian Player to Join Common Goal Charity Pledge
Borussia Dortmund star Shinji Kagawa has become the latest individual to back the Common Goal initiative - common-goal.org - and pledge at least 1% of his salary to charity in a bid to use football as a force for good in local communities around the world.
Kagawa is the 19th person to formally support Common Goal, and the very first from Japan and Asia. His pledge follows on from the addition of six high profile female stars just a few days ago, including 2015 World Cup winner and three-time Olympic gold medalist Heather O'Reilly.
His former Manchester United teammate Juan Mata became the public face of Common Goal and the driving force behind it when he was the first to make the 1% pledge back in August. Kagawa can also count ex-Dortmund colleague Mats Hummels among those he is joining.
"I'm really excited to announce to you today that I've joined Juan Mata on the Common Goal team," the 28-year-old explained.
"Football has given me so many opportunities in life and now I want to play my role in supporting others through the game. Common Goal is quickly growing around the world and I'm proud to help lead the movement forward in Japan."
Kagawa is keen to repay football for the opportunities he has been given and use it as a force for good to inspire and impact positive change in people's lives.
"I've been fortunate enough to have football lead me all over the world - Japan, England, South Africa, Brazil and of course Germany, to name just a few countries," he said.
"If there's one constant I've witnessed throughout the journey it has to be passion. Football inspires and excites people like nothing else on the planet, and what I love about Common Goal is that it channels this passion in a way that makes a real difference to disadvantaged communities around the world."
Mata is delighted to welcome Kagawa to Common Goal, commenting "Shinji knows a thing or two about being first - he was the first player from Japan to play at Manchester United and then the first to win the Premier League. So I think it's fitting that he's now the first to join Common Goal as well.
"I know first-hand that Shinji is a special footballer and a brilliant person. It's a great pleasure for me to welcome him to the team today."
Common Goal is the work of streetworldfootball, an NGO that has helped develop and support a global network of 120 local football charities over the last 15 years - working to positively affect the lives of some 2.3m disadvantaged young people at community level in as many as 80 countries worldwide, from India, to Colombia, to Germany, the United States and many more.
Ultimately, the long-term vision of Common Goal is to unlock 1% of the entire football industry's enormous revenue - conservatively believed to be worth around $30bn per year - to help fund grassroots charities that use football to strengthen communities.
Learn more at www.streetfootballworld.org
