The talented young footballers from the Reliance Foundation Young Champs programme put in a spirited run that saw them make an encouraging Round-of-32 appearance in the FC Bayern Youth Cup over the course of last week at the Western Railway Football Sports Ground in Mumbai. An under-16 tournament for some of the brightest youngsters from various schools from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, it saw a total of 96 teams take part in seven-a-side matches with two halves of 15 minutes each and two substitutes allowed per team.The Young Champs participants, all under-14s as it is the oldest age group at the programme with the youngest player being 11-year-old goalkeeper Birender Rabha Singh, fought tooth and nail between. Size and age didn't affect the performance of the RFYC players much as they slugged it out with opponents twice their size under the watchful gaze of head coach Mark Vaessen and assistant coach Jose Baretto, who accompanied the gifted young players while shouting instructions from the sidelines.Having received a "bye" in their first game, the Young Champs went through to the next round to take on Singapore International A team on January 26. Much was expected from the talented RFYC youngsters and they delivered in style as they brushed aside Singapore International's first team 3-0 courtesy of a brace from striker Ayush Chhikara and a goal from strike partner Ronik Singh. The win booked them a spot in the round of 32 where they faced Christ Church, Malad on January 31.After making a positive start to the game, the RFYC players went into the break ruing three efforts that went narrowly wide of the goal. They went on to fall behind early in the second half and failed to equalise despite applying a lot of pressure on the Christ Church goal. Head coach Vaessen was disappointed after the 1-0 defeat but was positive about it being a learning experience for his players. “This is a good learning moment for them. They must learn in life sometimes you lose and sometimes you win, and it’s good to think about why I lost and how I can change it in the next game.”
