AFC - There may be a charitable element to the Iran Olympic side's friendly against the Singapore national team on Saturday evening but coach Mohammed Mayeli Kohan is treating the match very seriously as he prepares his side for their upcoming Olympic qualifying campaign.
The Iranian side are in the island republic for a warm-up friendly ahead of the final rounds of the Asian Olympic Football Qualifiers in March.
They are slated to meet Korea Republic, China and Malaysia in Group A and see the match against Singapore as an ideal warm-up for their opening clash against the Malaysians in Kuala Lumpur on March 3.
"The friendly against Singapore is very important for our preparations," said Kohan, who has brought a full squad of 22 players to Singapore. "We chose to play against them because their style is similar to our Olympic qualifying opponents, Malaysia.
"We will treat this match as a competitive fixture. My first eleven is more or less settled and I know my team and I know my line-up.
"I want them to play exactly how they will against Malaysia, so we will be going full force in this match.
Match organisers have revealed that a portion of the gate takings from the friendly at the Jalan Besar Stadium will go to the Bam Earthquake Relief Fund, which has been set up to help relief and reconstructive efforts in Iran following the devastating events of December 26 last year.
The organisers have pledged a minimum of S$5,000 (US$3,000) for the fund.