Day 4 of the Reliance Foundation Young Champs Final Selection Camp saw all 158 participants waking up early and gathering for refreshments at 6:30 am, following which they were transferred from their base Beverly Park to Fr. Agnel Ground for the morning session from 7-9 am. It featured warm-ups and tactical 7-v-7 games on three mini-pitches.

The youngsters were bought back to their Beverly Park base by bus for breakfast at 9:30 am. This was followed by some rest time to allow them to recover sufficiently before the second training session of the day in the evening. The young talents then moved to the auditorium around 11:30 am where coaches showed them video analysis of their training session, and highlighted areas of improvement.

Shortly after the hour-long video exhibition in the auditorium, lunch was served around 12:45 pm with all the youngsters, chaperones and coaches gathering in the marquee tent for their meals. Another seminar began in the auditorium at 2 pm after lunch. The hopefuls were briefed about the project and the programme for the week during the seminar.

They were also shown videos of a fresh-faced Lionel Messi and asked to observe, and if possible retain some tips from the Argentinian maestro’s movement and ball-play. It ended around 2:45 pm as all the players returned to their respective rooms to gain some more rest before getting ready for the evening session. The young aspirants were then taken to the marquee tent for some refreshments before a bus ride to Fr. Agnel Ground for the evening session.

The session started at 5 pm with warm-ups and witnessed a high intensity 7-v-7 tournament take place under the watchful gaze of the coaches. It concluded around 7, following which they were transferred back to Beverly Park by bus. After freshening up quickly, they returned to the marquee tent for dinner at 8 pm.

Mumbai City FC grassroots coach Tanaz Hassan Mohammed was impressed by the determination, resilience and mental strength of the participants present at the camp. “Yes, it’s good to see familiar faces coming back because this shows that they aren’t giving up, and at this stage if they have that in their mind then it’s good for them in the long run, to not give up and give their best,” he said.