The Iran National Team, also known as “Team Melli”, are set to play two

friendly matches in a planned Southern African tour to take place

between 04 and 13 July 2009. Team Melli is one of the strongest teams

in Asia according to FIFA continental rankings.

The Persian Football Tour Southern Africa kicks off in Gaborone,

Botswana where the Iran National Team will play a friendly match

against the Botswana National Team on Sunday, 05 July 2009. The

game is set to take place at the University of Botswana stadium in the

capital city of Gaborone. The match will kick off at 15:30 local time.

The South African leg of the Football Tour will take place in the City of

Bloemfontein in the Free State Province, where Team Melli will face the

mighty Amakhosi, Kaizer Chiefs in a friendly match that will mark the

end of the Southern African tour.

The teams will lock horns at

Vodacom Park Stadium on Saturday, 11 July 2009. The gates open at

12:00, and the match will kick off at 16:00 local time. Vodacom Park

Stadium (Free State Stadium) featured successfully in the recent FIFA

Confederations CupTM, and is an official stadium for the 2010 FIFA

World CupTM.

ABSA Premiership team Kaizer Chiefs have a busy and exciting preseason

campaign ahead of them as they prepare for the 2009 - 2010

Premier Soccer League Season, which is compressed running from

August 2009 to February 2010 due to the World Cup.

Kaizer Chiefs Marketing Director, Jessica Motaung believes that playing

Iran will be beneficial for the team on a number of fronts as she

explained by saying, "As a team Chiefs are always looking at ways of

testing our team against different kinds of opponents, and we want to

let our fans see us test ourselves against strong teams from various

regions of the world. I believe that playing against Iran, the team gets

to prepare itself against strong international opposition for the new

season and our fans are given exposure to a different football culture".

South African fans rarely are treated to Asian football teams visiting

their shores. The visit by Iran this month will only be the fourth by an

Asian national team to South Africa since the country re-entered the

international football fold in 1992. Motaung spoke about the historical

importance of the match, "Football has been a unifying force in

bringing the people of our country together, and it has done the same

thing all over the world", she said.

For Iran, the tour is important as they begin their rebuilding process

after narrowly missing out on qualification for the 2010 FIFA World

CupTM.

Their focus is on being match ready when qualification

matches for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, which will take place in Qatar,

resumes later this year.

It also gives the Botswana national team a run

against tough international opposition, and for Kaizer Chiefs it is a

chance for new Head Coach, Vladimir Vermezovic (Serbian) to put his

team through another tough pre-season run out as they continue their

preparations for the 2009 - 2010 South African Premier Soccer League

season that kicks off in August.

Match tickets for Kaizer Chiefs vs. Iran are on sale at Computicket and

Shoprite outlets throughout South Africa. Ticket prices are R40 for Main

Grandstand, R30 for Open Stand (adult), and R15 for juveniles.

The Persian Football Tour Southern Africa is in partnership with the Free

State Province, and is promoted, produced, and managed by J.A.K.E

Productions in association with Sport Global Management.