Sepahan and Saipa are Iranian teams playing in the Asian Champions League.

Manager of International Relations Committee of the Football Confederation on Tuesday said three Iranian teams will compete in the first Asian Professional League (APL).
According to MNA, Mohammad Mansour Azimzadeh added, “There is a special committee in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) which follows up the issue of holding professional football league. In its first round of evaluation of Asian leagues, the committee came to Iran in 2007.“
He observed, “Based on supervision and evaluation criteria, the maximum number of points for securing a berth in the professional league is 500.
The appraisal process is made up of 10 pivots, which include the structure of premier league, spectators, marketing and conditions of stadiums.“
The official recalled that in the preliminary evaluation Iran scored 296 points while the UAE and Uzbekistan garnered 232 points, Syria 238, Qatar 255, Australia 312, Saudi Arabia 318, China 361, South Korea 381 and Japan 464 points.
He further recalled that in the most recent meeting between Iranian officials and the committee members on April 13, the problems that existed in Iran’s Premier league in the first round of evaluation were removed to a great extent.
“One case in point was the exact number of spectators on the average.
Another point raised by the AFC was the number of managers active in the league organization. In the preliminary evaluation, this figure was less than the AFC standard, which is at least five managers. However, in the second round of evaluation, documentations were presented to the AFC which showed the number of active managers is five,“ pointed out Azimzadeh.
He recalled that other problematic issues such as the number of professional players and the status of coaches were also discussed with AFC officials.
He said that in wake of the new round of negotiations, Iran’s total points have reached 314.7, excluding the issue of marketing.

Iranian midfielder Javad Nekounam played in a charity football match at Sevilla’s Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan to help African children.
The 27-year-old Nekounam played with Spain’s foreign-based players captained by Sevilla’s striker Fredrik Kanoute against the World’s Best Players team on Tuesday. Kanoute’s men won the match 5-3.
African football stars including Didier Drogba of Chelsea and Samuel Eto’o of Barcelona were also among the players participating in the match, Press TV reported.
The game was organized by Kanoute, the 2007 African Footballer of the Year, in collaboration with UNICEF.
The match also paid tribute to Sevilla defender Antonio Puerta, who died last year at the age of 22 after suffering a heart attack on the pitch.
Nekounam tore his ligament in a pre-season friendly last August but has finally returned to full fitness.

Reports in England have linked Iran international, Andranik Teymourian, with a summer move to Sunderland.
Teymourian joined Bolton in 2006, and within five months broke in to the first team. However, with the departure of Sam Allardyce, he struggled to get much playing time in his second season with Bolton.
According to ISP, Teymourian is now out of contract, and is looking for a new club. “I have been approached by two English Premier League sides, one from the German Bundesliga, and one in Spain. But I will not make a decision until all the European leagues are finished,“ he said recently. It is believed that Teymourian would stay in England if he receives a suitable offer.
He will be with Iran for four World Cup qualifying games in June, and is looking to put pen to paper before joining the training camp with Iran next week.
Roy Keane is expected to make changes to his current squad over the summer and has been promised £50 million to spend by the club.

Steven Gerrard

Steven Gerrard admits Liverpool will only challenge for the Premier League title next season if Rafa Benitez spends big money.
Gerrard is desperate to make up for another disappointing domestic campaign after Benitez’s side slipped out of the title race by Christmas and finished nine points behind champions Manchester United, AFP wrote.
Gerrard knows that gap won’t be closed unless Benitez is given substantial backing from the Anfield board to bring in several world-class players.
Benitez has already met Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks to draw up a transfer battle plan, with Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry and Borussia Dortmund defender Philip Degn on his wanted list, but Gerrard wants more investment from the Anfield hierarchy.
“Obviously I have to be careful that I don’t send expectations through the roof again, but for me I am desperate for it a title challenge. I believe in this team and this manager and believe we can make it happen,“ Gerrard said.
“We need help and new players and the manager needs help from the board to make these signings happen and make us stronger. I don’t know much about Rafa’s transfer plans. He doesn’t call me in and tell me names. But he does assure me that if anyone becomes available who would strengthen the side, then he will buy them.

Nikolay Davydenko cruised into the third round of the Hamburg Masters by defeating Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 6-1 Tuesday, and two more players retired because of injuries.
David Ferrer defeated Ivo Minar 6-3, 6-3, while Andreas Seppi downed eight-seeded Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-2, AP reported.
Luis Horna dropped out with a calf injury while trailing Potito Starace 6-3, 4-2, and Kristof Vliegen pulled out with a back injury with Jose Acasuso leading 5-2. Filippo Volandri retired Monday with a knee injury.
Davydenko dominated Ljubicic after the two players traded five breaks of serve early in the match.
“The first match is always difficult,“ said Davydenko, who had a first-round bye.
The Russian, who is coming off a third-round loss to Tommy Robredo in Rome, won the Masters tournament in Miami last month.
“Losing to Robredo was difficult, but the win in Miami has made me mentally stronger,“ Davydenko said. Ljubicic has not beaten Davydenko in four years.
Robredo rallied Tuesday to outlast Philipp Kohlschreiber 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3. He won his first match in Hamburg since capturing the title in 2006.
The 13th-seeded Robredo was helped by a disputed call in the second set. Losing the point would have put Robredo down a break but chair umpire Gerry Armstrong overruled the linesman, calling the ball good.

Lilian Thuram

Referees should have the power to stop matches if players are subjected to racial abuse at next month’s European Championship, France defender Lilian Thuram said on Tuesday.
Players such as Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o have previously advocated walking off the field if subjected to racist abuse. Thuram, who like Eto’o is black, said referees should be the ones taking decisive action.
“In the European Championship, it would be good for the referees to assume their responsibilities. I think it could be something very important,“ Thuram told AFP. “The referee has the right to stop the match if he wants.“
Thuram is expected to be chosen for the tournament in Austria and Switzerland when France coach Raymond Domenech announces his roster Sunday. It would be the seventh straight major international tournament for Thuram, who holds the French record with 138 national team appearances.
FC Barcelona defender was speaking at a news conference for the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance in Paris, which was launching its ’Unite against racism’ initiative campaign ahead of Euro 2008.
Thuram, who moved to France from Guadeloupe as a young child, said he fears racism in soccer stadiums is increasing.