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Eni Aluko becomes latest star to join Common Goal initiative

The Juventus striker, who has over 100 caps for England, has become the 135th football player or manager to pledge 1% of their earnings to a collective fund that invests in high-impact football for good initiatives

Ben Burrows
Wednesday 06 November 2019 10:26 GMT
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Eric Cantona and Eni Aluko are both members of the Common Goal initiative
Eric Cantona and Eni Aluko are both members of the Common Goal initiative (Pedro Gomes / Common Goal)

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Eni Aluko has become the latest football star to join Common Goal

The Juventus striker, who has over 100 caps for England, has become the 135th football player or manager to pledge 1% of their earnings to a collective fund that invests in high-impact football for good initiatives around the world.

Eric Cantona, who became the first Common Goal mentor in October 2018, welcomed Aluko to the movement live on stage at the Web Summit, held in Lisbon, Portugal on Tuesday.

“In football we can’t achieve anything alone, and the same goes for social change - it’s a team game,” she said. “Only together can we change the world. Now is the time for us all to unite behind a shared vision for football and show how together we can shape the future of the world.

“I always felt I needed to use my voice. I’ve been personally affected by racism but, like many other athletes, I want to be able to use my voice to solve this problem in football, and society, because with Common Goal if we address something in football it will have a knock-on effect on society.

Aluko met with fellow Juve star Giorgio Chiellini a few days ahead of the announcement, the Italian defender being one of the movement's first members two years ago.

He said: “Our contribution individually can seem so small in relation to the scale of problems facing the world. But I think together we can really help the younger generation of players to understand what the world needs, what the problems for the future might be.

"Leaders like Eniola, Jürgen Klopp and Megan Rapinoe are showing what can be done and are helping us create a big, powerful platform for the future.”

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