Over 6200 inmates in Bangkok’s overcrowded Khlongprem prison are serving sentences on drug-related charges

BANGKOK, June 13 (IslamOnline & New Agencies) – While the World Cup tournament in South Korea and Japan is attracting the attention of the world, another one is taking place in Thailand, where Thai and foreign inmates swapped prison stripes for football kits Thursday, June 13, as they kicked off the inaugural prisoners’ World Cup in a notorious Thai jail nicknamed the “Bangkok Hilton.”  

The prisoners’ World Cup, attended by over 400 inmates and 100 journalists, in addition to foreign embassy staff and local officials, also has tight security measures.
Two hundred guards, many of them armed with machine guns, gathered at Klongprem Central Prison in Bangkok to witness seven-a-side teams Nigeria and Japan lace up for the opening match, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.  

With pomp and pageantry rarely witnessed at a Thai jail, 100 prisoners paraded onto the half-size pitch hoisting flags and placards of country teams: Japan , Nigeria , England , Italy , France , Germany , the United States and Thailand .  

“The main objective for our first World Cup was to decrease tension among prisoners, to teach them about unity, and to decrease conflict,” the director general of the corrections department, Siva Saengmanee, said at a ‘pre-match’ press conference.  

“We chose Japan for the opening match because they represent Asia .”  

Nigeria , the country with the largest number of foreign prisoners at Klongprem, then promptly defeated a largely Thai Japanese squad 6-1 in a match whose goals led to riotous on-field celebrations and drew enthusiastic applause from the on looking inmates, AFP said.   

Klongprem houses 7,283 prisoners, including 1,153 foreigners, mainly on drug charges.  

“I have been here two years and two months now, and this is the first time they have held such a tournament. They should do it at least once a year to decrease stress,” said the Nigerian team captain, who was prevented by prison guards from giving his name, AFP said.  

He said he was serving a five-year sentence for drug trafficking.  

“This tournament is good because we can spend our time breaking the prison routine,” said prisoner-footballer Michael Kuyt of Holland .  

The top two teams from each of the two groups will proceed to the knock-out phase, according to a game schedule. The victors will receive a gold-painted wooden replica of the World Cup trophy, as well as extra toiletries.  

The prison gained its nickname from the 1989 film “Bangkok Hilton”, starring Australian actress Nicole Kidman, about a young woman deceived into trafficking drugs.

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