Balogun pledges 1% of his wages to Common Goal charity

[iworo]

Nigeria's Leon Balogun pledges 1% of his wages to Common Goal charity


Brighton and Nigeria's Leon Balogun has joined compatriot William Troost-Ekong in donating 1% of his wages to charity

Brighton's Nigeria defender Leon Balogun becomes the first African player in the English Premier League to join Juan Mata's Common Goal campaign.

Manchester United's Mata wants players to donate at least 1% of their wages to football-related charities.

"I feel we could be doing more to help those who are less fortunate," Balogun said.

"As football players, we enjoy a high place in society and so we have a very important role to play."

Balogun's compatriot William Troost-Ekong, Ghana's David Accam and Lesotho's Bokang Mothoana have already joined.

Uganda international Jean Sseninde was the first African and sole female player from the continent to join the Common Goal initiative.

"Joining Common Goal gives me the opportunity to actively help and support people in their communities and open up doors to a better life," he added.

"This gives me so much joy because as footballers we can do a lot to make social impact around the world."

The defender, 30, joined Brighton in May, and scored his first goal for the club in a thrilling 3-1 win over rivals Crystal Palace early this month.

Born in Germany, Balogun, who has previously played for Hannover, Werder Bremen, Fortuna Düsseldorf and Mainz, has made 25 appearances for Nigeria.

He played all three matches at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Mata is raising money for Common Goal, run by the organisation streetfootballworld, after being shocked by the poverty he saw on a visit to Mumbai, India.

The Spaniard is aiming to create a 'Common Goal starting XI', made up of 11 players who each donate 1% of their wage to the charity.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/46606418

[Coach]

It took a Juan Mata for others to see the poverty of their kinfolk. Welldone Balogun.

[Prince]

It took a Juan Mata for others to see the poverty of their kinfolk. Welldone Balogun.

I saw it but because it is for a good cause I ignored it. Why can't we do one for Nigeria.

[kajifu]

I don't support this if the charity is not for Africa.Let every country do their own,Mata was in Africa did not see poverty but when to India and see poverty?
I don't trust this Mata after what he did while in Valencia and Chelsea.

[Coach]

@Chief Oga Kaji, the question is not, why cant Africa but rather, why does Africa...? Why does Africa, proudly, exist in a perpetual state of dependency? Why is there always a need for charity? ‘Twas said “give a man fish” and so a generation was taught to catch salmon like the Alaskan grizzly, yet fast forward a generation and the seeds of those very anglers are famished, impoverished and all in between.

There follows the question once more, why does it take a Juan Mata to do so...is it not our million and billionaires banging their heads against the roofs of their Gold plated G wagons, as they course the sorry excuse for roads, heavily tinted windows blunting but not burying, the piercing poverty that sits outside their car windows, deformed arms outstretched in hopelessness.

Upon realising why it takes a Juan Mata, one will learn the futility in the question asked.

[iworo]

I don't support this if the charity is not for Africa.Let every country do their own,Mata was in Africa did not see poverty but when to India and see poverty?
I don't trust this Mata after what he did while in Valencia and Chelsea.

India has higher levels of malnourished children than Sub-Saharan Africa, despite the Asian giant having more funds and better infrastructure to tackle the problem. India's land mass is 1/10th of Africa's. (India - 1.26 sq. miles and Africa - 11.7 sq. miles). While India houses 17% of World's total population in 2.4% of world's total land area, Africa houses 15% of the World's total population in 20% of the World's total land area). Without going into much details this can be safely considered that Africa has much larger percentage of access to natural resources per capita than India. A bigger land mass equals to resources like water, minerals and even oil (offshore oil reserves in Nigeria, Ghana and Congo are a testament to that). Africa has a natural advantage over India in this aspect.

[jette1]

I don't support this if the charity is not for Africa.Let every country do their own,Mata was in Africa did not see poverty but when to India and see poverty?
I don't trust this Mata after what he did while in Valencia and Chelsea.

India has higher levels of malnourished children than Sub-Saharan Africa, despite the Asian giant having more funds and better infrastructure to tackle the problem. India's land mass is 1/10th of Africa's. (India - 1.26 sq. miles and Africa - 11.7 sq. miles). While India houses 17% of World's total population in 2.4% of world's total land area, Africa houses 15% of the World's total population in 20% of the World's total land area). Without going into much details this can be safely considered that Africa has much larger percentage of access to natural resources per capita than India. A bigger land mass equals to resources like water, minerals and even oil (offshore oil reserves in Nigeria, Ghana and Congo are a testament to that). Africa has a natural advantage over India in this aspect.

Besides that; An Indian poor is more likely to really really manifest poverty as opposed to an African poor who would still be happy and smiling despite the condition. Hence mata might have overlooked smiling children he saw in Africa as opposed to miserable imagery he encountered in India.