Aizawl, Nov 1 (PTI) In an effort to promote grassroots football in Mizoram, Reliance Foundation, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), has entered a tie-up with MFA for a children football league.
“The Reliance Foundation (RF) and Mizoram Football Association have joined hands to expand, transform and create a complete hyper-local pathway and decentralised approach to grassroots football in Mizoram through Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) Naupang (Children) League,” the RF said in a statement on Monday.
The Naupang League aims to develop local ecosystems and enable aspiring and talented footballers as young as 5 year-olds both boys and girls to gain competitive and practice exposure, the statement said.
The focus is on a broad base of multi-tier, age-group engagements that operate all through the year and meaningfully engage players.
The RFYC Children League will be hosted in four locations in Mizoram with two models of the league structure.
The MFA and district football associations will host the leagues in south Mizoram’s Lunglei and Kolasib in the northern part of the state bordering Assam.
Reliance Foundation Young Champs will operate two leagues in Aizawl and east Mizoram’s Champhai town.
Age categories in this league begin from under 6 and go on until under 13 years with multiple game formats. RFYC Naupang (Children) League will be hosted in four locations across Mizoram with two models.
RF Young Champs will further integrate with RF Youth Sports in the region to ensure additional games and competitive exposure to deserving players.
The RF said that the Mizoram football ecosystem is set to benefit immensely from Reliance Foundation’s Young Champs as its programmes include coach education and development, referee development and weekly coaching program for kids, among others.
Commenting on the partnership, RF chairperson Nita M Ambani said that football is a way of life in Mizoram and that the partnership between RF Young Champions and MFA will provide high quality training to talented boys and girls.
“I’m excited about the immense possibilities it will open up for children in Mizoram, a state that is heavily invested in football. We remain committed to unlocking the potential of grassroots football across India and helping aspiring footballers achieve their full potential,” she added.
MFA honorary secretary and AIFF executive committee member Lalnghinglova Hmar also said that the project can be a game-changer for Mizoram and Indian football.
“We are looking forward to the kick-off and in the same year the FIFA Under 17 Women’s World Cup is in India and FIFA Men’s World Cup 2022, will give extra enthusiasm to the kids. MFA is glad that Reliance Foundation has been providing a platform to young kids so that they can bring alive their sports dreams Hmar said.