Schoolchildren played football with a dozen elephants in their own 'World Cup' competition in Thailand.

Pupils from the Ayutthaya Witthayalai School in Ayutthaya province held the match on December 13, with 13 jumbos also participating.

The elephants were painted with different national flags representing the participants of the FIFA World Cup, which is taking place in Qatar.

Guided by their mahouts, the animals displayed their football, or soccer, skills as they blocked and scored goals on the field.

Organisers said the event was meant to promote the youth's participation in sports and to boost the local tourism.

Ayutthaya Elephant Palace manager Reangrhongbaht Meepan said: 'We want to be part of the tourism attraction because elephants are Thailand's mascots, and we hope that it can attract more tourists to come to Thailand after the World Cup.'

Thailand has an estimated 2,000 Asian elephants living in the wild where they wander freely among protected forests. Male Asian elephants, unlike African elephants, roam alone once they are over 10 years old while females remain with the herd.

There is sometimes conflict when they come into contact with humans on roads and in villages so wildlife rangers are tasked with monitoring their movements.

A similar number of elephants in the country are also kept in captivity to work in the tourist industry or at religious festivals and weddings. A small number still work in commercial logging.