World Champion participates in the "Common Goal" movement
Hummels donates one percent of his salary
Less than two weeks ago, Juan Mata of Manchester United had made headlines by donating one percent of his annual salary to a good cause. Now also Mats Hummels participates in the "Common Goal" movement and does the Spaniard the same.
"When I heard about the initiative, I immediately felt that this idea has great potential to make a lasting contribution to society through football and to change the lives of many disadvantaged children and young people," Hummels explained. "I like the approach of linking economic development in football with a deeper meaning." This goal quickly convinced him to be with Common Goal.
Also for Mata it is a success. The Spaniard had asked other colleagues to follow his example and found a prominent imitator in Hummels. "I was not familiar with Mats so far, so I was more positively surprised when he came up to talk about Common Goal," Mata said. "He understands very well what we can achieve together, and in this early phase of the initiative is the best team-mate you can ever wish for." Now, Mata hopes that the FCB actor will "inspire many more players and colleagues to join the movement".
Hummels also hopes for imitators
The donations of the two world champions will in the future flow into a collective fund, launched by the Berlin-based social enterprise streetfootballworld. "Two football stars from different leagues in different countries are coming together in order to be efficient socially," said Jürgen Griesbeck, founder and CEO of streetfootballworld. "This somewhat untypical constellation shows how deeply rooted and attractive teamwork is in football." Hummels now hopes that Mata and he will not stay together: "I believe that with Common Goal we can sustain social change in a sustainable and efficient manner, but we will only achieve it by working together like on the pitch."