BANGKOK, July 6, 2018 (BSS/TASS)- In a letter that was sent to the Football
Association of Thailand, FIFA President Gianni Infantino invited the 12
schoolchildren and their coach who were trapped in the partially-flooded Tham
Khao Luang Cave in Thailand to the 2018 FIFA World Cup final that will be
held in Moscow on July 15.
“If, as we all hope, they are reunited with their families in the coming
days and their health allows them to travel, FIFA would be delighted to
invite them to attend the 2018 World Cup final in Moscow as our guests,”
Infantino stated. FIFA noted that it has been keeping track of the news about
the rescue operation since June 23.
On June 23, national park employees discovered a motorbike, bicycles and
sports equipment near an entrance to the Tham Khao Luang Cave. They contacted
the local football club, which confirmed to them that the items discovered
belong to 12 schoolchildren aged 11-16 and their 25-year-old coach. The cave
in which they found themselves stretches almost 10 km and has several
entrances and exits, as well as large galleries in which the missing people
could have hidden from the rising waters.
Thai authorities launched a rescue operation for the people trapped in the
cave.
The FIFA World Cup matches will run from June 14 to July 15 in 11 Russian
cities.