English Premier League side Southampton Football Club have made a pledge that will see them plant as many as 3,000 trees over the course of the next four years in the UK with the help of the talents coming through their youth academy. The Saints have pledged to plant up to 250 trees for every youth star that makes their debut for the first team, the club have confirmed.
It is part of the club's new Home-grown Initiative and further strengthens the club's intentions of broadening their sustainability strategy. The project is known as the Halo Effect and will be kicking off later this month.
Southampton Football Club are famously known for producing top talents with the number of prolific talents that have come through the ranks at the St. Mary's youth academy in recent years. They have been responsible for the emergence of a host of stars including the likes of Tottenham's Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Manchester United's left-back Luke Shaw, and a host of other talents who have made a name for themselves.
Current Saints boss Ralph Hassenhutl has also pledged to continue the trend of promoting top talents to the first team, which has led to the project. Since taking his role as Southampton manager, Hassenhutl has given first-team debuts to a couple of young stars with the likes of Kegs Chauke, Ryan Finnigan, Caleb Watts, and Alex Jankewitz all having their manager to thank for allowing them to make their debuts for the first-team.
Dan N'Lundulu is another youngster who recently made his debut in the Saints' FA Cup third-round clash with Shrewsbury Town where he also grabbed a goal in what was his eighth appearance for Southampton. After the game, he said that he is proud that he began his career at Southampton and loves that the club gives chance to young players.
