Sampdoria's Morten Thorsby changes shirt number to raise climate awareness
- Published
Thorsby joined Sampdoria in 2019 and has encouraged the club to be more environmentally friendly since
The number 2 shirt in football is synonymous with a right-back, but for one player it has taken on much greater significance.
Sampdoria's Morten Thorsby is a Norwegian midfielder who made 33 appearances in Italian football's top-flight last term.
This season, while his position is unlikely to alter, the 25-year-old will switch from number 18 to 2.
Why? To raise awareness of climate change.
The number represents the internationally-adopted Paris Agreement target of keeping global temperatures "well below" 2C above pre-industrial times, in order to avoid dangerous levels of climate change.
It is an aim that has been agreed by almost 200 countries - and subsequently a figure Thorsby wants at the forefront of supporter's minds.
"Purpose is something I struggled a lot with [as a teenager]. I had to perform in football, but for me nothing made sense," Thorsby told BroPod, external.
"I wanted to be better than everyone, but at the same time I had a side of me that said 'what are you doing? We have a huge environmental crisis going on and I'm playing football. This makes no sense at all.
"It came to the point I was not sure I wanted to do this [football] anymore. I spoke to my parents and we reached the conclusion I wanted to use my life to fight for what is important - and the best thing I can do is to become as good at football as possible and keep on speaking about these important issues.
"Now I quote 'purpose-driven performance'. I think it's cool to perform for something bigger than my individual project."
To further aid his cause, Thorsby has founded 'We Play Green', which seeks to engage the football community in environmental initiatives and has already gained support from other players.
"It is about awareness," added Thorsby. "That people are aware of every choice they make. That's how you will manage to get people on board."
Sampdoria - and Thorsby - begin their 2020-21 season with a Coppa Italia first-round match against Alessandria on Monday.
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