The third edition of the Reliance Foundation Young Champs club scouting festival kicks off on Thursday as thousands of youngsters from across the nation look to become a part of India’s most holistic full-time residential scholarship that aims at scouting players between the age 11 and 14 through the ISL clubs’ grassroots initiatives.After resounding success in the first two editions of the RFYC club scouting festivals, the bar has been set higher than ever before as numerous budding talents look to give it their all and join the 41 scholars already a part of the programme.The third edition of the RFYC club scouting festival begins in Mumbai on April 6 before moving to Kolkata on April 7, Guwahati on April 8 and Delhi on April 9. The festival then shifts to Kerala on April 10, Chennai on April 11, Goa on April 12 and concludes in Pune on April 13. These youngsters will be scouted under the watchful gaze of Piet Hubers, the Technical Director of grassroots development; Mark Vaessen, the head coach of the Reliance Foundation Young Champs as well as the eight ISL clubs’ grassroots coaches, who have monitored the progress of the young hopefuls.All the participants will be rated on the basis of their positional play, passing ability, shooting accuracy, ball control, technical ability, etc. It must also be noted that selections during the grassroots festivals are dependent entirely on merit, which means the talents scouted from each city may not be uniform in number. Once the best young talents have been identified by the coaches, the chosen few, who made the cut in their respective clubs’ grassroots festival, will be brought to Mumbai for a week-long camp in Navi Mumbai known as the RFYC Final Selection Camp.It is here where they will undergo theory sessions at Beverly Park and practical sessions at Fr. Agnel Ground, Navi Mumbai. Hubers and Vaessen in consultation with the ISL clubs’ grassroots coaches then evaluate the chosen few after more rigorous training regimes which look to test their technical skills and their physical endurance. At the conclusion of the final selection camp, the prestigious scholarship is awarded to the most deserving players, which if accepted, will offer them an opportunity to train regularly, while also enhancing their academic acumen.
