Shri. Pu Lalduhoma, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Mizoram felicitated Reliance Foundation Young Champs at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Aizawl.
The state honoured Reliance Foundation during the final match of the Independence Day Football Tournament 2024, held on Thursday at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Aizawl.
The Mizoram Football Association (MFA) has recognized and honoured the Reliance Foundation for its support and contributions to football development in Mizoram. The foundation’s initiatives—Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) Naupang League, Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS), and Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL)—have played a significant role in nurturing young football talent in the region.
The state felicitated Reliance Foundation during the final match of the Independence Day Football Tournament 2024, held on Thursday at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Aizawl. This event marked a special acknowledgement of the foundation’s ongoing efforts to provide meaningful progression opportunities for young footballers in Mizoram.
“The Mizoram Football Association is delighted to felicitate the Reliance Foundation with this honour for their pioneering work in changing the football ecosystem in the country. We, at MFA, are proud to have partnered with the Reliance Foundation and introduced some landmark initiatives in the interest of growth of football in the state. So far, we have received a tremendous response from the region with more and more young kids from Mizoram aspiring to take up football professionally and together, we vow to continue the work with similar enthusiasm towards our joint objectives and vision,” said Lalrengpuia, Honorary Secretary, Mizoram Football Association.
Since 2017, the Reliance Foundation has been steadfast in its commitment to uplifting the sporting structure in northeast India, particularly through its football tournaments in Mizoram. The RFYC Naupang League has engaged children across various age groups—U5, U7, U9, U11, and U13—while the RFYS and RFDL tournaments have provided a platform for talented young players to showcase and further develop their skills.
The RFYS and RFYC Naupang League focus on offering competitive playing experiences to school-aged children, while the RFDL stands as an elite youth-level competition, attracting participation from clubs nationwide.
Reliance Foundation’s sports initiatives have touched the lives of over 22 million young people since 2013 across the country from over 13,000 schools and colleges, enabling an opportunity for talented children anywhere to be able to achieve their dream of a career in sport. It is especially committed to ensuring more presence and the success of girls and women athletes in India and designs its programmes in a manner that offers them maximum opportunities.
Reliance Foundation’s sports programme aims to develop the sporting ecosystem in India starting from the grassroots. Through its scholarship and athletics programmes, the foundation currently supports over 200 athletes in more than 10 Olympic sports. It also operates three world-class athletics training facilities in India and has partnerships with the IOC, IOA, AFI, and Odisha government. Reliance Foundation runs the Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) football academy, which is India’s highest-rated football academy, with many graduates going on to represent various ISL clubs.
The Foundation’s approach to developing the football ecosystem includes organising three grassroots initiatives: Reliance Foundation Youth Sports, RFYC Naupang League, and Reliance Foundation Development League