PHOTOS: Pandas Celebrate World Cup with Football-Themed Party in Sichuan

By Jesse Pottinger, June 15, 2018

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Football fans across China and around the world celebrated the commencement of the long-awaited 2018 FIFA World Cup yesterday, but it turns out it wasn’t just people partaking in the festivities. 

People.cn reports that staff at the Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Shenshuping, Sichuan province, have hosted a little party of their own, with a number of juvenile pandas expressing their newfound love for the sport.

Neither the bears nor their caretakers seemed particularly fazed by China’s absence at the 2018 tournament in Russia, as the one-year-old, black and white fur balls can be seen rolling around, pushing the ball, snackin’ on bamboo and being the goofy – albeit adorable – animals that they are. 

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This is far from the first delightful panda moments caught on camera. For more cute stories about these charming creatures, check out these 10 memorable panda moments.

Eager to watch the upcoming football action live? Here’s a list of all the World Cup games with their China kickoff times. 

READ MORE: Pandas May Have Actually Come from Europe, Says New Study

[Images via People.cn]

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