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Asia Has Another World Cup Going On in Thailand
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6200 inmates in Bangkok’s overcrowded Khlongprem prison are
serving sentences on drug-related charges
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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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