Prime ministers take to soccer field in celebration

TALLINN, Estonia – Politics gave way to soccer on Saturday as Finland defeated Estonia 1-0 in Tallinn with the teams led by the countries’ leaders as part of centennial celebrations.

The winner was scored by Paula Lehtomaki, a senior member of Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila’s office. Sipila’s counterpart, Juri Ratas, captained Estonia.

More than 100 events, including beach soccer and futsal, were held in stadiums and public parks across southern Finland and Estonia. The schedule included Estonian border guards taking on Helsinki police officials in Narva on the Russian border.

The Finnish Parliament declared the Nordic nation’s independence from Russia in 1917, while Estonia celebrates the centenary of its independence declaration from 1918. The Baltic nation was a Soviet republic from 1940 to 1991.