Reliance Foundation, the CSR arm of Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), and Yakult Danone India Pvt. Ltd., a global leader in Probiotics and its related clinical research organizations through a Japanese and French joint venture company, announced a partnership with Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC). The association will provide the RFYC scholars access to international youth football tournaments across Asia. The Yakult team will also work with the coaching and the performance teams at the institute to share knowledge about Probiotics and nutrition, thereby contributing to the holistic development of scholars.
Mr. Hiroshi Hamada, Managing Director, Yakult India Pvt. Ltd. seen with RF Young Champs U14 Team in SuperMokh Cup 2022
Further, RFYC scholars will get the opportunity to compete in different age-group tournaments in Asia, to jointly share experience, training and knowledge with club footballers in their age group. This tie-up will help strengthen knowledge sharing on sports between Japan and India, which will aid in the development of young players. The RFYC team has in the past, played against teams from the Premier League in India and England. In October 2022, the RFYC U14 teams participated in the Malaysia Supermokh Cup 2022 which was played against European, ASEAN and Japanese youth teams. The U17 RFYC team is scheduled to travel to Japan to participate in one of the top level U17 tournaments in Japan named the Sanix International Cup in 2023.
Expressing his views, Mr. Hiroshi Hamada, Managing Director, Yakult Danone India Pvt. Ltd. said, “We are delighted to partner with Reliance Foundation to help nurture young talent in India. We are now interested in improving the health of the youth of India, through our association with Reliance Foundation, which is in line with our corporate philosophy of contributing to the health and happiness of people around the world.”
“Through such CSR activities, we have developed an entrenched working relationship, with various stakeholders in the football ecosystem, in Japan and Malaysia, and now seek to leverage the same for the benefit of young talented players of the Reliance Foundation Young Champs program, in India.”
“We will provide our signature Yakult product and share its scientifically proven health benefits, which is most relevant for athletes with players and staff of Reliance Foundation Young Champs program, to help them maintain their immunity, improve overall health and reduce the risk of infections,” Mr. Hamada added.
The Reliance Foundation Young Champs program is based on the vision of identifying talented young footballers and providing them an excellent and conducive environment to discover their potential both on and off the pitch. Supported entirely by the Reliance Foundation, each year RFYC offers a full scholarship to young talent from across the country after a comprehensive year-long scouting process.
This year, Mizoram Football Association and RFYC have joined hands to expand, transform and create a complete hyper-local pathway and decentralized approach to grassroot football through Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) Naupang (Children) League in the state.
The RFYC Academy in Mumbai, is equipped with state of the art facilities and dedicated multi-disciplinary full time staff. RFYC currently hosts children from around the country, playing across five age groups (U14, U15, U16, U17, and U19).
About Reliance Foundation Sports
Reliance Foundation celebrates the spirit of sports-joy, health, grit, determination, winning and losing. And works to ensure that more and more children and youth from all sections of society are able to play sports and, in the process, build a fitter, stronger and more active India. Our initiatives have touched the lives of over 21.5 million young people since 2013 across the country from 13,000+ schools and colleges, enabling an opportunity for a talented kid anywhere to be able to achieve their dream of a career/glory in sports. We are especially committed to ensuring more presence and success of girl and women athletes in India and design our programmes in a manner that offers them maximum opportunities. At Reliance Foundation, we hope to be the wind beneath the wings of Indian sportspersons and help them reach their true potential.
The Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) academy launched in May 2015 with the vision of identifying talented young footballers and providing them an environment of excellence to unlock their potential both on and off the pitch. Supported entirely by the Reliance Foundation, each year RFYC offers fully funded scholarships to young talents from across the country following a comprehensive yearlong scouting process. For more information on RFYC initiatives please go to www.rfyoungchamps.org.
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