The third edition of the Reliance Foundation Young Champs Club Scouting Festival got underway at the Cooperage Ground in Mumbai on Thursday. The festival began at 7 pm and saw several enthusiastic youngsters showcase their footballing ability in a bid to impress the coaches and make it to the RFYC Final Selection Camp next month.The aspiring talents were scouted by 18 coaches from Mumbai City FC’s grassroots development programme, including head coach Dinesh Nair. Piet Hubers, technical director of grassroots development, and Mark Vaessen, head coach of the RFYC, were also in attendance to look over the proceedings.Hubers was quick to observe the rise in the quality of the participants in Mumbai and credited Mumbai City FC’s grassroots programme for the improvement. “It was very well organized by Mumbai City FC with a very nice environment for the kids to play because that’s a very important thing. In my opinion, the players performed very well. And as it is the third year, every year the level has increased,” he said.The club scouting festival began with the hopefuls’ technical skills under the scanner as they took part in passing and receiving drills. The area of focus then shifted to their positional sense as they were pitted against one another in teams of 7-v-3 and 6-v-4 before eventually taking part in a 7-a-side game to bring an end to Day 1 of the festival in Mumbai. The Club Scouting Festival continues in Kolkata on Friday.
