Ex-Manchester United star Juan Mata’s Movement Eyes Blockchain to boost trust

Part of the beauty of former Manchester United and Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata’s Common Goal concept is its simplicity.

Launched in 2017, the initiative has individuals and organizations within the world of football pledge at least one percent of their earnings to a collective fund that supports football organizations around the world.

Among the project’s early adopters were hugely successful international players such as former Italy captain Giorgio Chiellini and German World Cup winner Mats Hummels, as well as US women’s national team megastars Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan.

Three years ago, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp became the first major manager to join the movement, which also includes UEFAEFA president Aleksander Čeferin and Danish club FC Nordsjælland.

However, the Common Goal movement becomes much more complicated when the group begins to try to engage and organize its diverse global community in other ways.

Assembling a movement of soccer stars willing to commit to their income is one thing, but harnessing their collective power is quite another.

The way the organization tries to tackle this challenge is through technology, he explains

Common Goal’s other co-founder, Thomas Preiss.

“We run a WhatsApp group,” he tells me, “the people who are in the movement never actually come together physically. A lot of community building is supported by modern communication technology. I don’t think a movement like Common Goal would be possible without these tools.”

Such a strategy may sound logical, but all too often in the ideal arena the approach is distinctly analog. Fears that new technologies may be expensive or ineffective can be a stumbling block for large charities that used the same reliable fundraising techniques for decades.

Preiss wants Common Goal to not only operate with technology tools that modern businesses use, but he also wants the charity to be at the forefront.

The belief in blockchain

One such effort to lead on technology comes in a recent partnership with tech firm ChilizCHZ designed to harness the power of blockchain – the decentralized online ledger used for cryptocurrency.

Although blockchain tends to be associated with crypto, the technology has the potential to be used for many more applications. The two organizations recognize an open and accessible record showing the flow of funds from donor to project, which blockchain offers, has the potential to revolutionize charitable giving.

For Common Goal, a project that relies on its members to commit and send funds to other organizations, such transparency is beneficial for all involved.

“I think there is a certain challenge with trust in football, sports and charitable giving,” Preiss continues. “[But there is] the potential is that blockchain technology can play a meaningful role [in addressing that]

– The same applies to other industries and sectors. I think, sooner or later, we will see stocks being on the blockchain or real estate transactions shown on the blockchain. There will be a movement of financial transactions being validated in some capacity, so why shouldn’t that be the case for donations?

“Why shouldn’t the NGO sector take the lead on this?” He adds.

‘A souvenir shirt for the web3 man cave’

Of course, it’s all well and good to sign a partnership with a technology company, even one like Chiliz that is specifically set up to devise applications for blockchain in the world of sports, and not get the effect promised at the launch event, which by the way found place at Paris Blockchain Week.

So to demonstrate how the pair will work together, they decided to push a classic charity fundraiser into the 21st century.

As part of the ‘One Shirt Pledge’, the likes of Juan Mata, Jermaine Jenas, Giorgio Chiellini and Cristian Romero are donating a match-worn shirt from their personal collection for auction.

The Web3 twist is that the player records a video “pledge” explaining why the jersey is important to them, that video literally becomes an additional part of the item’s value by being integrated into the clothing itself through a near-field communication [NFC] chip.

That means the owner of a Cristian Romero framed jersey not only has mud stains and sweat marks to prove its authenticity, they can also hold a smartphone over the item and play the exclusive video.

The confluence of real and digital memories is enhanced by twisted digital co-delivery of the jerseys imprinted on the Chiliz Blockchain.

James Newman, director of corporate affairs at Chiliz, believes such initiatives are the future.

“The way things are happening now is [people] not only want the physical element of the experience we all, whether we like it or not, have a digital profile online, he says.

“As well as [someone might say] “come to my man cave and see my shirts on the wall,” we’re moving to a world where your digital wallet is as much a signifier that demonstrates your communities and allegiances as anything else.”

Common Goal hopes such initiatives will not only be a way to raise money, but also increase the number of people involved in the movement.

“When I joined Common Goal almost six years ago, I could not have imagined the different ways it would grow and that it would inspire and bring together so many people on and off the pitch,” added Juan Mata, co-founder of Common Goal .

“Seeing another opportunity for collaboration come to life through the One Shirt Pledge is just further proof that working together in new ways can make real change.”

If Common Goal and Chiliz can harness the power of blockchain in the way they hope their One Shirt collaboration could be the start of an even more fundamental shift in the way NGOs operate.

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