Reliance Foundation Youth Sports

Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS) is a program spearheaded by Reliance Foundation, the non-profit and CSR arm of Reliance Industries. It focuses on promoting youth sports in India, particularly at the school and collegiate levels. Currently, eight cities are participating in this initiative with the long-term goal of creating a sports association similar to the NCAA in the United States. In the future, the program will encompass various other sports and allow school and college teams and athletes to compete at the district, state, and national levels for the championship.[1] In 2015, Reliance Foundation also launched Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC), a program to develop football talent in India. The program is linked to the eight cities participating in the Indian Super League, and the respective teams conduct grassroots initiatives to support RFYC.

Reliance Foundation Youth Sports
First eventAugust 2016 to February 2017
Founder and ChairpersonNita Ambani
Websitewww.rfyouthsports.com

Launch

Reliance Foundation Youth Sports was digitally launched on 23 July 2016 by Narendra Modi, the current Prime Minister of India. The launch was live-streamed on the official website.[2] The Prime Minister also interacted [3] with young footballers from eight cities via video conference.

Reliance Foundation Young Champs

Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC)[4] is an academy launched in 2015 to provide a pathway for talented young players across India to build successful professional careers in football.[5] In July 2020, the academy based at Navi Mumbai conferred the Two-Star Academy status by the Asian Football Confederation.[6] In October 2020, the first ever batch graduated from the academy and nine among them were signed by various Indian clubs.[7] Aritra Das, Muhammed Basith PT and Birendra Singh were signed by Kerala Blasters while G Balaji and Aqib Nawab joined Chennaiyin FC. The other recruitment consisted Muhammeded Nemil at FC Goa, Thoi Singh at Bengaluru FC, Ayush Chhikara at Mumbai City and Koustav Dutta at Hyderabad FC. Balaji and Nawab's deals are for two years while the other seven players agreed to three-year contracts.[8]

Reliance Foundation Development League

The Reliance Foundation Development League is India's first U-21 developmental football league organised by Reliance Foundation in technical support with AIFF.[9] A total of eight teams participated in the first tournament which was held in South Goa from 15 April to 12 May 2022.[10] Participants in the league must have been born on or after January 1, 2002.[11] Several Indian Super League reserve teams joined Reliance Foundation Young Champs for the inaugural edition.[12]

Structure

The Indian School College Sports, or ISCS, under the aegis of Reliance Foundation will be the overseeing body for all school and collegiate sports; organizing, promoting and executing championships at all levels. Starting with football in 2016–2017,[13] RFYS focuses on expanding in the coming years by organizing more sporting events.

The RFYS legislative structure has cabinets and committee members consisting of various members from participating schools and colleges, overlooking the process of participation.

Eligibility

Schools and colleges willing to participate in the initiative start by filling the participation form online, available on the official RFYS website. Post enrolment, the institutions are accepted or rejected based on their eligibility criteria. However, in some cases the right to admission remains with the organisers.

Advisory board

RFYS has a six-member advisory board[14] consisting of eminent personalities to guide the thought and growth of this initiative. This board consists of Nita Ambani, Sachin Tendulkar, Leander Paes, Saina Nehwal, Professor Dipak Jain and Ranbir Kapoor.

References
  1. "Reliance Foundation Official Website". Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  2. "Sports for National Integration, Says Modi; Launches Reliance Foundation Youth Sports". Archived from the original on 25 July 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  3. "PM's address on the launch of Reliance Foundation Youth Sports, via video conferencing". www.pmindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  4. "16 Teams To Compete In Nike Premier Cup 2018 National Finals". i-league.org. New Delhi: All India Football Federation. 27 January 2018. Archived from the original on 27 July 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  5. Sagnik (4 March 2020). "Finding the next Indian football hero — The Young Champs way". The Bridge. Archived from the original on 8 May 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  6. "Reliance Foundation Young Champs Conferred Two-Star Academy by AFC". Indian Super League. Archived from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  7. Sportstar, Team. "Nine graduates from first RFYC batch to sign contracts with ISL clubs". Sportstar. Archived from the original on 16 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  8. Desk, Sentinel Digital. "1st Reliance Foundation Young Champs batch set to embark on pro football journey – Sentinelassam". The Sentinel Assam. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  9. "Seven Hero ISL clubs to join RFYC in inaugural Reliance Foundation Development League from April 15". 7 April 2022. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  10. "All you need to know about the RF Development League 2022". 8 April 2022. Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  11. "The Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL) 2023". FootballExpress.in. 30 March 2023.
  12. "Seven Hero ISL clubs to join RFYC in inaugural Reliance Foundation Development League from April 15". 7 April 2022. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  13. "Nita Ambani-led Reliance Foundation Kicks-off National Youth Sports Competition". Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  14. "Reliance Foundation kicks-off National Youth Sports competition (official press release)". Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
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