Mary Connor
Chief Executive Officer, Common Goal
The Power of Sport for Belonging
Mary Connor is the Chief Executive Officer of Common Goal, a global nonprofit dedicated to using the power of soccer to shape a world where every young person, everywhere, has the opportunity to play, learn, and thrive. Since 2002, formerly under the name streetfootballworld, Common Goal is the Home of Football for Good, with a worldwide network of over 200 community-based organizations spanning 117 countries. Backed by leading brands, professional athletes, foundations, and international development institutions, Common Goal elevating the side of soccer that’s not about the stadiums it fills, but about the people whose lives it touches and whose futures it shapes.
Mary’s tenure in Football for Good began decades before, as Co-Founder and Executive Director at Soccer Without Borders, an award-winning NGO that uses soccer as a tool for social inclusion, with a focus on creating belonging and opportunities for refugee and immigrant youth. Under her leadership, Soccer Without Borders grew from all-volunteer organization in 2007 to a globally recognized leader in sport for social development, with awards from FIFA, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Mackenzie Scott, among others.
A former collegiate coach and professional player in the WUSA, the first women’s professional league in the USA, and Icelandic Premier League, Mary earned her BA from Dartmouth College in philosophy and holds a master’s degree in sociology from Lehigh University. She lives in Northampton, Massachusetts with her wife Annie, which is also where she grew up.
