By Lauren Lewis –
June 12,2018
Photos From The Nation
A “friendly” football match with students riding elephants was held today in Thailand as part of a campaign against gambling on the sport ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which begins on Thursday in Russia.
As per The Nation, nine elephants, adorned with “colorful cheering-squad paints” participated in a free-kick contest at the Ayutthaya Wittayalai School stadium before joining in a short game with a team of human opponents, the school’s youth athletes. The poor elephants were on loan from the Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal in Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya.

The activity was reportedly held to boost the tourism of the historic province and city of Ayutthaya, the second Siamese capital after Sukhothai, and to encourage people, especially children and youth, to watch the World Cup matches in the next four weeks without placing bets.
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