Premier League Football: The Cost of Social Change

Manchester United’s, Juan Mata has vowed to donate 1% of his annual salary to a charity that supports global football initiatives for disadvantaged children. With the news at the forefront of today’s sports media – it would be amiss not to take a long, hard look at the issue of the overplayed and overpaid.

Not satisfied with making the move alone, Mata has called on his fellow footballers to join the cause: ‘Common Goal’, a movement in which all players pledge 1% of their salaries to a collective fund that supports football charities across the world.

What we’re trying to do is define a shared social agenda for football” comments, Mata; the main man himself. “Common Goal goes beyond individual brands and egos to deliver a greater impact. By making the pledge, we can form a lasting connection between football as a business and football as a tool for social change.”

Following Mata’s reveal, Bayern Munich and Germany International defender Mats Hummels became the second player to donate – stating: “I feel we could be doing more to connect the increasing revenues in football to some kind of deeper purpose.”

Certainly, during a summer in which a new world-record transfer fee has been set – with Neymar’s £198 million move from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain – and more than £1.2 billion spent in transfer fees within the Premier League alone; the new initiative has never been more topical.

Indeed, the issue of ludicrous wages is prevalent as amounts continue to spiral. In fact, collectively, the wage bills of all 20 Premier League Clubs is estimated to hold a value of £2 billion.

 

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Photo credit: dizain/Shutterstock

 

“Players are a great place to start because they’re the stars of the show” explains, Jurgen Griesbeck, CEO of streetfootballworld.org – an award-winning NGO that supports more than 120 football charities worldwide.

“Imagine the entire industry uniting in the name of social change. Together we can usher in a new era for football and forge a deeper sense of purpose at the heart of the game.”

 

Bearing this in mind, ticketgum.com decided to analyse how much the Premier League’s top goal scorers could invest in charity – if they were to join the cause.

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The first action was to identify the top goal scorer of each team, for the season 2016-17, and their subsequent yearly salary; before applying the 1% precedent set by Mata.

Unsurprisingly, the top three players able to donate the most are part of the UK’s leading clubs:

  • Sergio Aguero, at Manchester City – with a 1% value of £144,400
  • Zlatan Ibrahimovic, at Manchester United – with a 1% value of £144,400
  • Eden Hazard, at Chelsea – with a 1% value of £104,000

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Photo credit: igorstevanovic /Shutterstock

 

By looking toward what is happening in the local areas of these gargantuan premier league teams, we can see how a monetary donation of just 1% could be put to far better use.

Savage cuts totalling more than £160 million are set to be rubber stamped across Greater Manchester, in 2017-18, thanks to a further 10% drop in funding and rocketing demand for resources.

Whilst a 1% monetary donation from Manchester City and Manchester United players respectively, wouldn’t necessarily fill this void; an injection of £114,400 (courtesy of players like Sergio Aguero and Zlatan Ibrahimović) could help lessen the financial burden in key areas.

In London, schools have been among the worst affected by government spending cuts and it is feared that schools in Hammersmith and Fulham (Chelsea’s home ground) will be among the hardest hit by the new funding formula. Councillor Sue Fennimore notes:

“These cuts are a real danger to children’s education. School budgets are already stretched and any more cuts could have a massive impact.”

Likewise, the London boroughs of Islington and Highbury (Arsenal’s founding ground) face extreme education cuts – with £12,000,000 due to be cut from the education budget over the next 3 years.

Certainly, a 1% charity value of £72,800 from Alexis Sanchez to local education services in need could make an invaluable difference – particularly if the rest of the team follows suit.

Even in local areas where teams are less prominent, and less valuable, there is still room for change and help needed. Take the local area of AFC Bournemouth for example. Since 2010, the number of rough sleepers in Bournemouth has increased by an overwhelming 292% – one of the highest homeless rates in the South West.

Joshua King’s 1% charity value of £5,200 alone could make the world of difference to a charity like ‘Hope for Food’ – Bournemouth-based, it is run entirely by volunteers and focuses upon helping the homeless in need.

A spokesperson from Ticketgum comments: “Football is known to be an iconic, team sport. As players work together to achieve greatness on the pitch, why should their commitment to charity be any different? With wages increasing at substantial rates, it would be unjust to negate the difference a 1% donation could make across the UK – and the world.”

Feature image credit: Vlad1988/Shutterstock