Adidas Pledges 1% Of Football Sales To Common Goal

Adidas has pledged 1% of its global net sales of footballs to the charity Common Goal, as part of a new initial three-year partnership.

The pair aim to ‘maximise football’s contribution towards a more equitable and inclusive world’, and will aim to ‘drive lasting social change’ for under-served communities, fighting racism and discrimination, powering gender equality, fostering mental well-being, and promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion.

They also aim to support grassroots community organisations around the world, via a network of 140 high-impact football NGO’s in 90 countries. The aim is to directly impact 90,000 lives through a series of projects and strategic focuses concentrated on removing inequality, improving access, and working towards greater gender parity.

The projects include the Global Goal 5 Accelerator to give girls the opportunity to play football, as well as an anti-racism project, an initiative to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion, and a programme to empower young people to shape their communities and play a key role in creating peaceful and inclusive societies.

“This partnership with adidas represents a shift in the football industry,” said Jürgen Griesbeck, CEO and Co-Founder, Common Goal.

“Social impact has moved to a high priority for football stakeholders. adidas has shown its leadership in investing in Common Goal and together we can scale and accelerate football’s contribution towards the Global Goals. We believe that anything is possible if we work together as one team.”

Gonzalo Calvo, Director for Communities and Culture, adidas, added: “At adidas, we are committed to creating change through football. We cannot do this alone, however, and therefore look to individuals and organizations with a shared commitment to action, such as Common Goal.

“This is a team effort, and it was important to announce this partnership and our ambitions for it during the most collaborative and inclusive football tournament in European history. This is just the start.”

Adidas has also committed ‘significant resources’ to storytelling and content production to bring the partnership’s impact to a wider audience. It will also make a strategic investment to support Common Goal’s greater ambition to positively change 100 million young lives by 2030, amplifying its work through the brand’s global footprint.