Royal heritage destination Hua Hin’s flagship InterContinental Hua Hin Resort has been confirmed as an official sponsor of the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012, playing host to the centrepiece of the Official Trophy Tour of the tournament.

The resort is sponsoring next month’s FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012 - in the hope of generating local interest in the game and encouraging Hua Hin’s youth to develop an active interest in the indoor-based variation of football.

The FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012 will be held in Bangkok in November, marking the first time the prestigious tournament has been held in Thailand.

The InterContinental Hua Hin Resort is the historical town’s most prominent resort.

The royally-inspired heritage hotel features beachfront villas as well as La Residence, a 480sqm, two-storey Rama VI period beachfront house which dates back to the 1920s.

The InterContinental Hua Hin Resort recently hosted an opening ceremony to mark the occasion, at which the tournament’s coveted trophy was displayed to guests.

Present at the ceremony were officials from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, as well as guests of honour including the mayor of Hua Hin, Nopporn Wuttikul and Britta Kutz, general manager of the five star resort.

In celebration of the World Cup and to induce a bit of football fever, the day literally kicked off in the morning with the InterContinental Hua Hin Resort hosting a futsal game between local schools who put their best players forward to compete against one another.

Doors opened for the ceremony at 08:45 on Thursday 25th October, with speeches and the presentation of the trophy commencing at 09:00.

The futsal game kicked off at 09:25, with half-time entertainment provided by the Rak Wittaya School cheerleading team.

Following the event was a photo session which finished at 10:30.

InterContinental Hua Hin Resort was nominated for the title of Thailand’s Leading Resort at the World Travel Awards earlier this year.