After signing his first professional contract, a five-year deal with English Championship side, Huddersfield Town, 17-year old Nigerian born wonderkid, Tom Iorpenda, has become one of the youngest to ever join the Common Goal movement.
Common Goal is a pledge-based charitable movement by streetfootballworld for the football industry, that was launched with the support of Spanish footballer, Juan Mata.
The movement encourages professional football players and coaches to pledge at least one percent of their salaries to a collective fund that supports football charities around the world.
Tom joins the likes of Real Madrid Castilla’s Bruno Iglesias and Real Madrid U-19’s Marc Pina who took the 1% pledge as teenagers and is part of a new wave of young footballers determined to help create a more inclusive future.
The midfielder, whose father, Terna Iorpenda, is a Benue born ex-football player, aims to inspire other young footballers to do good through football.
“I hope if people younger than me or around my age see this and get educated by it, they can start doing something similar to what I’m doing and join the movement,” commented Tom
Pledging my 1% to Common Goal as soon as I signed my first professional contract and started earning my own wage was an important thing for me to do.
“I felt that I had a responsibility to help people who aren’t as fortunate as me.
“Starting early was key as I aim to continue this commitment for the rest of my career and however long after that,” said the youngster who used to be part of the Academy at Brighton & Hove Albion.
