A World Cup tournament of sorts is taking place behind bars in a remote Bangkok prison. Tournament organizers it will not only be fun for the players, but for the inmates who watch.
A tournament, known as the World Cup Behind Bars 2010, is being held in a prison in Bangkok.
Prison inmates from Nigeria and South Africa competed on Monday. Nigeria came out on top in a quarterfinal match.
Inmates watched from behind bars.
One Nigerian inmate soccer player said the event brought excitement into his otherwise mundane life.
[Nigerian Inmate]: (male, English) no title bar
“Without the football or any sports the prisoners they feel boring and like this we play football they feel okay now.”
Most of the prisoners and prison guards looked cheerful when Nigeria shot the first goal ahead of South Africa.
16 teams of seven players each qualified for the tournament.
Prison authorities hope the event could ease the inmates’ stress after being in congested cells all day.
[Chartchai Suthikamon, Director General, Correction Department]: (male, Thai)
“We try to make them (prisoners) feel relaxed due to their stressful conditions. We don’t have many activities for them to do, so we provided the World Cup tournament, that is a good activity.”
The final will be played on July 10th, when the real World Cup match for third place in South Africa takes place.