CHERRIES manager Eddie Howe praised Charlie Daniels after the defender signed up to join Juan Mata’s Common Goal initiative.

Daniels, 31, will donate at least one per cent of his salary to the charity which Spain and Manchester United star Mata helped launch in August.

Mata has become the face of Common Goal, a collective fund which supports high-impact football-based projects around the world.

And Daniels and Swansea City defender Alfie Mawson were today unveiled as the first Premier League players to follow Mata by adding their support.

Cherries boss Howe said: “I think it is a great gesture by Charlie.

“It is a sign of the humility displayed by a lot of the playing staff within our squad.

“We have come on an incredible journey from the lower leagues to here and I think it is a reflection of that journey so full credit to Charlie.”

A number of internationals have come forward to back the scheme, including German national team players Mats Hummels and Serge Gnabry, Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini and US world champions Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe.

The addition of Daniels and Mawson from the Premier League – the richest league in the world – will be seen as a major breakthrough, with other players expected to follow suit.

Daniels said: “I have experienced pretty much everything you can as a player in England, maybe that’s why I will never forget where I have come from.

“Football is such an important part of my life, as it is for so many people in this country.

“It just seems right that our national sport gives something back to society.

“Common Goal is the most effective and long-lasting way for players to make a difference.

“If my pledge can help spread the idea of Common Goal, especially among the younger players, then it will be one of the proudest achievements of my career.”

Mata and organisers from streetfootballworld – a global organisation which connects grassroots initiatives – have been keen to make the charity stronger by forming a team of contributors to help underprivileged children.

A group of children Mata met in the Mumbai slums last summer were recently flown over from India by the charity and given a tour of United’s Old Trafford ground.

“I have been speaking to several English players who have shown an interest in Common Goal and it is brilliant that Charlie and Alfie are the first players to make the pledge,” said Mata.

“They are both top Premier League players and their commitment is a great step in the evolution of Common Goal.”

Jürgen Griesbeck, Common Goal CEO, said: “The fact that both Charlie and Alfie have reached the richest league in the world the hard way – coming up through the divisions – makes their joining Common Goal all the more authentic.

“Their stories are true to life, true to professional football and they are both perfect additions to Common Goal. We will be sharing more news very soon.”

The seeds for the charity were sown in Colombia in 1994 by Common Goal’s co-founder Jurgen Griesbeck who was inspired to abandon his academic studies in the country to devote his life to utilising football for good.

The catalyst was the murder of Andres Escobar, Colombia's captain at that summer's World Cup in the United States.

Escobar had scored an own goal in the defeat to the United States and, six days later, was shot dead in a car park.

Griesbeck launched Football for Peace in Colombia and then something similar in Germany.

He understood that by developing a network of charitable organisations he could create something much more powerful and efficient, forming streetfootballworld in 2002 and Common Goal this summer.