Our Purpose
Uniting the global football community in tackling the greatest social challenges of our time
For many, the game forms community. It binds people together and creates a common language they can all speak. And for some, it already serves as a powerful tool for addressing social challenges in their communities - but no systemic link exists between the professional game and the many community based football organisations around the world.
The idea is simple. Common Goal’s members pledge 1% of their earnings to a central fund. And together we allocate this fund to high-impact organisations that harness the power of football to advance the United Nations Global Goals
How Common Goal works
How can football advance the Global Goals?
Here are three of many examples:
Raise HIV/AIDS awareness in Nigeria
Implementing football NGO: YEDI
Young females in Nigeria, particularly girls between the ages of 13 and 19, face a raft of obstacles to sexual and reproductive health education. This increases their vulnerability to HIV and, by extension, makes them more prone to stigmatization and instances of gender-based violence.
With the right training, these girls can learn to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, and thereby take active control over their reproductive lives and the risks they face. Sadly, however, such training has traditionally been inaccessible to the majority of Nigeria’s female population.
This is why YEDI introduced its Skillz Girl program, a sexual and reproductive health education initiative that creates safe spaces for adolescent girls to have conversations about HIV/Aids and develop life management skills. By combining HIV/Aids education with football training, Skillz Girl allows its participants to learn and converse in an active, enjoyable environment.
The result? Higher participation rates, greater engagement and rising levels of HIV/Aids awareness among adolescent girls in Sub- Saharan Africa.
Tackle youth unemployment in the UK
Implementing football NGO: Street League
Youth unemployment poses a serious problem in the UK, with the proportion of 16-24 year olds not in education, employment or training (known as NEETs) hovering above 15%.
Not only are NEETs vulnerable to a wide range of negative conditions (such as social exclusion, crime, and mental health problems), their inability to find work costs the British economy more than £40 billion per year.
Street League is working to bring an end to youth employment in the UK. The charity offers 8-12 week sport and work skill programs to unemployed youth from disadvantaged backgrounds, who face significant obstacles moving into work.
The young participants take part in daily football and fitness activities, and then spend time developing their employability qualifications with one-on-one mentoring support. They’re also provided with work placement opportunities before moving into jobs, colleges, apprenticeships and further training.
Promote peacebuilding in Colombia
Implementing football NGO: Tiempo de Juego
Colombia has been devastated by internal conflict over the past 60 years, with upwards of 50,000 lives lost to date. The nation is now also struggling with an enormous population of internally displaced people—many of whom are either ex-guerilla members or their victims.
Situated on the outskirts of Bogota, Cazucá houses one of Colombia’s biggest settlements of displaced people. It is a notoriously dangerous neighborhood that sees a shocking number kids join gangs and deal drugs from a very young age.
Slowly but surely, Tiempo de Juego is using football to transform Cazucá for good. The organization embraces football as a catalyst for peace, using the game to bring troubled young people together and drive conflict resolution between them.
Through its ‘Football for Peace and Reconciliation’ program, Tiempo de Juego has helped its participants overcome labels of victim or victimizer to jointly see themselves as peace leaders, and to understand how their reconciliation process can positively affect the whole community.
Steering Board
Moya Dodd
Moya is a Partner in the competition and regulation group at Gilbert+Tobin Lawyers and a member of the Asian Football Confederation's Executive Committee. She was also one of the first few women on FIFA's Executive Committee, from 2013-2016.
A former national team player and vice-captain of Australia, Moya has been and continues to be a leading advocate and champion for women’s rights and gender equality in world football.
In her role as independent Chair of Common Goal's Steering Board, she oversees all of the Steering Board’s activities and formal decision making.
Jürgen Griesbeck
Jürgen is the Founder and CEO of streetfootballworld, an international NGO that supports a global network of 127 community organisations which all use football as a tool to accelerate and/or increase social development in underserved communities.
A Schwab Foundation Fellow of the World Economic Forum and Ashoka Fellow, he has a 20- year track record of impact and innovation in the field of football for good.
Jürgen serves as a member on the Steering Board in his function as CEO of streetfootballworld and Co-Founder of Common Goal.
Juan Mata
Juan is a professional footballer currently playing for Manchester United. During his career he has won the World Cup, European Championships, Champions League and Europa League, amongst other trophies.
A global ambassador of streetfootballworld, he co-founded Common Goal alongside Jürgen Griesbeck and Thomas Preiss in 2017 with the aim to form a lasting connection between football as a business and football as a tool for social change.
Juan was the first player to commit to pledge (a minimum of) 1% of his salary to high impact football for good organisations and serves as a member of Common Goal’s Steering Board.
Luc Tayart
Luc is the Managing Director of the Belgian King Baudouin Foundation which hosts and administers the Common Goal fund.
A philanthropic practitioner with more than 30 years of experience, he holds numerous additional positions in leading philanthropic and political institutions, including the Network of European Foundations where he serves as Treasurer, the European Venture Philanthropy Association where he serves as a member of the Strategic Committee and the European Policy Centre, where he is a member.
Luc serves as a member on the Steering Board in his function as Managing Director of the King Baudouin Foundation.
Photo copyright: Frank Toussaint
Core Team
Thomas Preiss
Thomas is a social change strategist and entrepreneur with a background in international economics and business administration.
In his role as Co-Founder and COO, he translates vision into strategy and oversees the day-to-day operations of Common Goal.
Outside of the office you will find Thomas on the water in the summer and the snow in the winter.
Miriam Schneider
Miriam joined our team with a professional background in tech, social business consulting and innovation trainings.
In her role as Community Lead, she manages and continuously improves the experience of our diverse group of members. She also develops key strategic partnerships for Common Goal.
Even though Miriam likes football, you are much more likely to meet her on the volleyball court after work.
Andrew Wisniewski
Andrew has a background in international relations, strategy and brand communication. He joined our team after previously working for a purpose driven creative agency in the US.
In his role as Communications Lead, Andrew oversees and coordinates the communication of Common Goal’s story in both the online and offline world.
Having resided in southern California for several years prior to joining Common Goal, he is still trying to find the closest surf spot to his new home in Berlin.
Ben Miller
Ben has a background in globally-syndicated content production and worked with elite athletes in the areas of personal branding, sponsorships and communication for several years.
At Common Goal, he heads up media and influencer relations.
Ben's previous roles have brought him to over 50 countries, one of which was Bhutan, where he missed a penalty in the only league match he ever played in.