This month, on 14 June to be precise, the summer transfer window opens. It is not usually the prompt for a footballer to visit an orchard. But on Thursday William Troost-Ekong took a trip to see the olive trees planted in Salerno to compensate for the carbon dioxide emissions created by his January loan from Watford to the Serie A side Salernitana.
His move was, he believes, the first carbon-neutral international transfer. The defender says he wanted to switch club “without harming the planet – or at least as little as possible” and believes the wider game should follow suit. “There is always a lot of money involved in a transfer. It would be good if part of this, and it is actually a small amount, is used as standard to make the transfer climate neutral. This should be the goal for all players and clubs.”
