The Reliance Foundation Development League is India's first developmental football league organised by the

Reliance Foundation Reliance Foundation is an Indian non-profit organisation which was founded in 2010 by Mukesh Ambani. It is wholly owned by Reliance Industries Limited and is one of the largest non-profit foundations in the country. History Reliance Foundat ...

in technical support with the

All India Football Federation The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the national governing body of football in India. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of football and affiliated to Asian Football Confederation. It is affiliated to Ministry ...

. A total of eight teams participated in the first tournament which was held in

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from 15 April to 12 May 2022. Youth (academy) teams of the

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clubs

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and

Hyderabad FC Hyderabad Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Hyderabad, Telangana. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Founded on 27 August 2019, the club replaced Pune City after they ...

joined

Reliance Foundation Young Champs 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. Current ...

(RFYC) for the inaugural edition. The league was founded to offer opportunities to the young players across the country.

Background

In June 2021 it was proposed after a meeting of the AIFF and CEOs of all the ISL clubs that a new developmental competition called Reliance Foundation Development League would be introduced in 2022. This new league would consist of the youth and reserve teams of all the ISL clubs, with aim to develop young players as there has been limited number of competitions and leagues outside the ISL since the

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic disease with a stable number of i ...

. The teams would predominantly feature U-21 players with few overage players allowed as well. The inaugural season of the proposed two-month league will be held in

inside a bio-secure bubble between January and March, following the same medical and safety procedures for 2021–22 ISL season, but got postponed to April 15.

Player selection

*born after January 1, 2001 *permission to include five players born on or after January, 1999, no more than three players are allowed in the playing XI *maximum of 24 players *no foreign nationals

Teams

2022 season

* Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC)

2023 season

Teams are divided into 9 zones for the regional qualifiers, each containing 4–8 teams.

References