Eight elephants joined a football match among some of their other activities at the on-going Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.

The elephants also attended some other activities at Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival such as a race, a parade, a tug-of-war competition and a ceremony to pray for their good health.

The seventh annual Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival is held on March 9 - 16, 2019, aiming to promote Buon Ma Thuot coffee brand, develop Vietnamese speciality coffee and gradually turn Buon Ma Thuot City into a destination for coffee aficionados worldwide, contributing to affirm Vietnamese coffee’s position on the global market.

The elephants were divided into two teams which played in two sessions lasting for 10 minutes each.

One team wore the red scarf, while the other wore the traditional costumes. The squads were instructed by mahouts.  

The elephant teams contested the ball from the kick-off 

The red-scarf team dominated just some minutes after the match kicked off. 

The match was closely supervised by referees. 

Fans cheered on the event  

The reds finally won 1-0. 

The teams were granted with the presents after the match

Lao Dong/Dtinews