Funds from November’s WFS Live are now on their way to fighting coronavirus through Common Goal’s Covid-19 Response Fund with the aim of empowering the football industry to “change the world for the better”.
World Football Summit committed 10 percent of ticket sales from the second edition of WFS Live to support Common Goal’s efforts that have seen €383,191 raised to help fight the pandemic in communities all over the globe.
This money has allowed vulnerable communities receive sanitation and hygiene supplies such as soap, hand-sanitisers and face masks, while it has also ensured vital local organisations stay open and kept educational activities going by providing financial assistance for online learning.
To-date, Common Goal’s Covid-19 Response Fund has already been distributed to 37 community projects in 27 different countries and these funds will help increase those numbers further.
July’s inaugural edition of WFS Live also allocated 50 percent of its profits to both Common Goal and Fundacao Fenomenos, and featured a fascinating discussion between respective co-founder and founder of the social movements – Juan Mata and Ronaldo Nazario.
This time around, we took the partnership even further and curated the entirety of day one at WFS Live in partnership with Common Goal under the banner of ‘The football we want, the game we need’ as we put the focus on what the football industry can do to have a greater positive impact on society.
“We’re extremely proud of having strengthened our relationship with Common Goal even further for our second edition of WFS Live,” said WFS director Jan Alessie.
“Apart from donating 10% of our ticketing sales to the Common Goal Covid-19 Response Fund, day one of the event allowed some of the leading voices in the game to talk about the responsibility and opportunity the football industry has to change the world for the better.”
Manchester United and Spain midfielder Mata again took to the virtual stage at WFS Live the second time around, joined by Common Goal members Johan Djourou and Sofie Junge Pedersen.
Fellow Common Goal co-founder Jürgen Griesbeck was also on hand to get the show on the road with the opening panel of the five-day event, titled; Reimagining the football industry: How to embed purpose in the fabric of football?
That purpose was a central theme to the event, something important to both Alessie and Griesbeck in shaping the future of the football industry.
“It was a pleasure to once again be a part of WFS Live with World Football Summit,” said Griesbeck.
1/ ???????????? ???????????????????????????????? ???????? ????????????????, ???????????? ???????????????? ???????? ???????????????? @WFSummit & #CommonGoal team up once again for the upcoming edition of #WFSLive to promote football's contribution to social change — a thread pic.twitter.com/9jOEoA52tM
— Common Goal (@CommonGoalOrg) November 20, 2020
“Now more than ever we need to move towards football as a purpose-driven industry and to be able to share a platform, dialogue, and ideas with people from within the industry is always invaluable in helping to drive progress.
“The collaboration between Common Goal and WFS allows our message to reach a wide audience of fans, players, and industry leaders that will ultimately be crucial when it comes to reshaping the game we all love.”
Alessie added: “WFS Live dedicated 10 panels of the digital summit to focus on how sport can embed purpose at its heart, in order to reimagine a fairer, more diverse and socially conscious future for football.
“We believe our strongest asset at WFS is our platform and the ability of amplifying the voice of those participating. That is why we’re committed to ensuring that these topics and these voices always have a strong space and presence at our events.”
You can learn more about the Common Goal Covid-19 Response Fund and make a donation HERE, while every panel from our day one collaboration at WFS Live can be found at our dedicated playlist HERE.
