Shinji Kagawa is a Japanese international and an adidas athlete, who has played for some of Europe’s biggest clubs – including Manchester United, where he was teammates with fellow Common Goal member Juan Mata.
In fact, it was Juan who first introduced Shinji to the movement and the pair share the same vision of how footballers should interact with the world around them.
After joining Common Goal, Shinji was keen to experience first-hand how football is changing lives and, in July 2019, travelled to The Philippines to visit FundLife – an organisation supported through Common Goal that provides innovative football-based educational activities to vulnerable children.
It was a trip that proved particularly emotional for Shinji who was moved by the participants’ resolve: “Despite the challenges they face,” he said. “They haven’t lost their smiles.”
The trip strengthened Shinji’s desire to drive change and also solidified his feeling of responsibility as an Asian player playing in Europe to represent the participants and “stand up for Asia.”