Duncan Watmore joins Juan Mata and Mats Hummels in Common Goal as Sunderland ace pledges to give 1 per cent of wages to charity
Watmore spoke of how the charity 'links in with his education' - he has a first class honours degree in economics and management
DUNCAN WATMORE has become the first Championship player to sign up for Juan Mata's Common Goal initiative.
Manchester United star Mata set up the organisation at the start of the season - an initiative calling on footballers to give up one per cent of their income to good causes.
And following the likes of Giorgio Chiellini, Mats Hummels and Shinji Kagawa joining up, Watmore has pledged his support.
Watmore, who also has a first-class honours degree in economics and business management, said: "I have always donated to charities but this is a way of formalising it.
"Common Goal have done it through football charities but it is not just football, it has a wider influence and it covers a lot of areas.
"For me the main area I want to go down is to link in with my education, I was lucky enough to get my degree."
And Cherries defender Daniels was quick to praise Watmore signing up.
NO GOAL Greedy Prem stars snub Juan Mata's charity
The 31-year-old wrote on Twitter: "I'm delighted to welcome Duncan Watmore as the 20th member on the common goal team.
"It’s great to see Duncan who has represented England at U20 and U21 level come and join us in common goal."
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THE 20 PEOPLE SIGNED UP TO COMMON GOAL
Juan Mata
Mats Hummels
Giorgio Chiellini
Shinji Kagawa
Serge Gnabry
Alfie Mawson
Charlie Daniels
Alex Morgan
Megan Rapinoe
Dennis Aogo
Heather O'Reilly
Olga Garica
Alex Brosque
Hasan Ali Kaldirim
Pauline Bremer
Julian Nagelsmann
Duncan Watmore
Vera Boquet
Nicole Regnier
Jean Ssninde
Mata set up the Common Goal charity earlier this year, aimed at helping under-privileged kids around the world, calling on players to make a donation.
The 29-year-old pledged one per cent of his wages - more than £70,000, or £1,400 weekly - to the charity.
And SunSport has previously reported how Premier League players have shunned Mata's charity attempts.
Daniels and Mawson are the only top-flight pros to have signed up to the scheme. That comes despite average yearly salaries for Premier League players standing at £2,450,201.
