What football’s legacy can be

adidas and Common Goal team up to advance gender equity and elevate football to be its best self 

As the curtain falls on the Men’s World Cup, adidas presents a specially created ‘half’ Al Hilm ball before Sunday’s final in order to deliver an important message: This is a game of two halves.

This comes at a key moment in the football calendar. As one tournament comes to an end, another appears on the horizon as the countdown to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™️ - the next big moment on the global football calendar – ramps up.

Based on the insight that only 14.1% of Gen Z fans of the Men’s World Cup will commit their support to the Women’s World Cup (GWI), adidas will use the spotlight of the final to showcase the passion, skill, and heartbreak that awaits fans in the half of football that continues to grow exponentially each season; in viewership and participation.

This is also an important moment for adidas and Common Goal’s journey together, unveiling the next step in their global partnership and with a special focus on driving progress towards gender equality across the game.

The commitment will see 1% of net sales of the official match balls from the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Al Hilm, and Al Rihla, contributed towards Common Goal’s Global Goal 5 Accelerator – facilitating its expansion across Latin America, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Europe.

The Global Goal 5 Accelerator is a collective project aimed at driving gender equality in football by supporting grassroots initiatives that increase access to the sport for women and girls, on and off the pitch.

“As eyes turn to next summer’s main event, we want to help ensure that women and girls that are inspired to play are able to do so, by accelerating access at a grassroots level. After all football at the highest level starts with a ball kicked on a local pitch or street” said Rachel Howard, Vice President, adidas Brand Emerging Markets.

“We’re proud to support the incredible self-driven communities that are making incredible progress towards this vision. This support will be accelerated as we approach the tournament in Australia and New Zealand – to capture the appetite to play we know it will inspire - but it is a long-term commitment, that will continue to deliver impact long after the tournament is over.”

This partnership isn’t anything new, but the focus on women’s football is, as is the platform.

adidas and Common Goal are bonded by the shared vision of a gender-equal game, and want to ensure that everyone sees both their role in contributing to this future, but equally the direct benefit of doing so. Accessing both sides of the game, not only benefits your own experience of the game, but also progresses the game and its impact forward.

“adidas' commitment goes beyond what we believe is an important step for gender equity and women’s football,” said Common Goal co-founder Jürgen Griesbeck.

“It is about elevating the sport to be its best self and demonstrating what its legacy could be. We hope many other brands and stakeholders move in the same direction, enabling the world’s favourite sport to unleash its full potential.”

2023 is shaping up to be an incredible year as we continue to lay the foundation for football to be its best self.