The City of Berkeley and Oakland Declare
Welcome Proclamation for Iran's National Soccer Team
Press Release For Immediate Release
Contact: Niloofar M. Nouri
Tel: (510) 821-9303
The Persian Center
Berkeley, California
January 7, 2000
Iran's National Soccer Team, visiting the United States for a series
of friendship games will receive formal welcome proclamations from the
City of Berkeley and the City of Oakland on Saturday, January 8th, 2000.
Representatives from the offices of Berkeley Mayor, Shirley Dean and
Oakland Mayor, Jerry Brown will attend a Saturday Brunch at Persian Center
in Berkeley, California on Saturday, January 8, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., (located
at 2029 Durant Avenue in Berkeley) and will read proclamations at 12:00
p.m. Team Members and representatives from the Iranian National Team have
been invited to receive this unusual and high honor.
The Iranian National Team is scheduled to play Mexico on Sunday, January
9th at the Oakland Coliseum (Oakland, California), Ecuador on Wednesday,
January 12th in Los Angeles at the Coliseum, and the USA on January 16th
at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Iran and US will be starting the new Millennium with a friendly replay
of the highly publicized 1998 World Cup match in which the US lost to Iran
2-1. Soccer is Iran's national pastime, and with the success of the team
Internationally and in the World Cup in 1998, Iranians and Iranian-Americans,
around the world (approximately 500,000 in California) have been eager
to see more games between the two teams.
Mohammad Khakpour, an Iranian player plays professionally in the MSL
on the New York MetroStars team and will be playing for Iran at these games.
Persian Center President, Shahin Tabrizi, stated, "We are very excited
about the friendly games between the two teams and are very glad to witness
a great relationship developing between the people of the two countries,
devoid of politics." In what many say is the first steps toward rapprochement
and normalization of relations between the two countries, Iran and the
US have opened limited cultural and sports contacts over the past year.
The Persian Center is a non-profit charitable organization, dedicated
to providing an environment for education, cultural celebrations, and exhibitions
to promote an understanding of the Persian culture and heritage, as well
as peace through education and understanding.
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