Elephant beauty contest, football match and race during festival in Nepal

"Training the elephants to play football was not easy but they learned the basic commands. They understood they need to hit the ball when I yell 'kick' at them," said Basudev Mahato, 37, an elephant mahout who has been training and riding elephants for 15 years. The elephants are between four and five years old. Young ones are easier to train and run faster, Mahato said.