Leon Balogun is seventh Premier League player to sign with Common Goal

'As Robert F Kennedy said, the purpose of life is to contribute in some way to making things better. We are trying to show players we can make things better, we change lives.'

Brighton defender Bruno Saltor is pretty clear what impact Common Goal is having around the globe.

Barely 16 months since Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata kick-started the initiative with business partner Jurgen Griesbeck, more than £800,000 has been raised to aid underprivileged communities and 68 players have signed up.

The latest is Bruno's Brighton and Hove Albion team-mate Leon Balogun, who like the others has pledged one per cent of his salary to the cause.

He said: 'I want to help people in need, people who are less fortunate than myself.  We enjoy a very high status in society, we are role models and have a role to play.

'We should help people who have been less fortunate than ourselves and don't receive special treatment in many cases.'

Berlin-born Balugun is the seventh Premier league player and there are hopes the most affluent league in the world still has more to offer.

Co-founder Juergen Griesbeck said: 'We'd love to involve more Premier League players and believe there is much more leadership potential in the league. I think many still understand this as yet another charity but it is not.

'It is a collective movement driven by professional footballers that has the common goal to transform the industry by using football itself to make a sustainable difference in the life of millions of people.

'If that was understood I think many would join straight away because nobody loses anything and the collective impact would be massive. It has the potential to literally change the world.'

Of those to have signed up for the initiative over 40 per cent are female players from 25 leagues and six continents now represented.

Alexander Hesswein of VFB Stuttgart has been actively helping causes in Cape Verde while Danish international Sofie Junge Pedersen has been in Ghana, helping schools for the blind and deaf plus Whizz Kids United a team that educates girls while also putting on football training sessions.

'What we do makes a difference,' said Pedersen. I strongly recommend to others that they visit an organisation as it encourages you to do more.'