Guards stand watch as Nigerian inmates play Japan
Posted on 06/21/2002 12:46:02 PM PDT by tictoc
The Nigerian inmates at Thailand's notorious Klong Prem prison beat Japan 5-1 as the "Bangkok Hilton" kicked off its own World Cup.
"We've been training once a day for a month. It's great. It relieves the stress of prison life," said 35-year old Prince Juvenal, a Nigerian doing time for drugs trafficking at Thailand's notorious prison.
 |
|
|
 I feel like a representative, I have the quality it is only that I am in prison
Goal-scorer Chuka
|
|
|
|
Inmates in women's clothing and a prison brass band led out the eight teams of prisoners at the all-male prison.
The England team mascot was a man dressed as Queen Elizabeth II while Japan's team mascot donned a kimono.
Nigeria completely dominated the opening game, one of the players, Chuka, scored two.
He said: "I love the game of football, this is what I used to do when I was small.
"I feel like a representative, I have the quality it is only that I am in prison and I don't have a good coach."
Nigeria, France, Germany, Thailand, England, Italy, the United States and Japan are battling over the next few days for a wooden model of the real world cup trophy made by inmates.
Toothbrushes and soap will also be awarded to the winning team.
Emmanuel Agbana of the Nigerian embassy said he was not surprised his compatriots easily unlocked the Japanese defence.
"We are a great footballing nation," he said.
The prison is home to 1,132 foreign inmates serving sentences of between 10 and 30 years for crimes such as drug trafficking and murder.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.