Sepahan plans fundraiser for Japan

PTV – ESFAHAN, Iranian football club Sepahan has asked Japanese club Kawasaki Frontale to hold a charity match in order to raise funds for the victims of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami.

Managing director of the Isfahan-based club, Mohammad-Reza Saket, sent a letter to Kawasaki Manager Naoki Soma, inviting the team to Iran for the fundraiser, Mehr news agency reported on Friday.

“We feel so sad for what happened in Japan and cordially invite you to come to Isfahan for a charity match… Sepahan is willing to hold friendlies to raise funds for the victims of Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami,” a part of the letter read.

In the AFC Champions League 2007, Sepahan played against Kawasaki Frontale and defeated it. The Iranian outfit then beat Al Wahda of the UAE to reach the final, where they lost to Urawa Red Diamonds.

On March 11, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake, off the northeast coast of Japan’s main island, unleashed a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami and was followed by more than 50 aftershocks for hours.

According to the National Police Agency, the death toll stands at 11,600, while 16, 500 people have been reported missing.

The March 11 quake is now considered Japan’s deadliest natural disaster since the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which killed more than 142,000 people.

The J-League halted after the devastating earthquake and is to resume on April 23.