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The Times of India
The Times of India
Sport
Sourav Modak | TNN

Naupang League all set to develop grassroots football in Mizoram

Mizoram Football Association (MFA) has joined hands with Reliance Foundation, the CSR arm of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), to expand and create a complete hyper-local pathway and approach to grassroots football in the state through Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) Naupang (Children) League.

The Naupang League aims to develop local ecosystems and enable aspiring and talented footballers as young as 5-year-olds, both boys and girls, to gain competitive exposure. The focus is on a broad base of multi-tier, age-group engagements that operate throughout the year.

Lalnghinglova Hmar (Tetea), honorary secretary, MFA, & executive committee member of All India Football Federation (AIFF), said on this development, "We are extremely happy with the partnership forged between Mizoram Football Association and Reliance Foundation, and this project can be a game-changer for Mizoram and Indian football. The community participation in the proposed Naupang League will add a different dimension to the competition as it will be a collective participation of kids, parents and the local community which will drive and motivate the team like never before and fuel the competitiveness of the league. The pilot project in Mizoram which we are confident will be successful, can be used as a blueprint for grassroots development, and the first of its kind, in Indian football. We are looking forward to the kick-off and in the same year the FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup is in India and FIFA Men's World Cup 2022, will give extra enthusiasm to the kids. MFA is glad that Reliance Foundation has been providing a platform to young kids so that they can bring alive their sports dreams."

The Naupang League will be hosted in four locations in Mizoram with two models of the league structure. The Mizoram FA and District FAs will host the leagues in Lunglei and Kolasib, enabled by RFYC, while two leagues in Aizawl and Champhai will be owned and operated by Reliance Foundation Young Champs. The age categories begin at Under-6 and continue until Under 13 years with multiple game formats. A minimum of 30 games will be played by the kids. RF Young Champs will further integrate with RF Youth Sports in the region to ensure additional games and competitive exposure to deserving players.

The Mizoram football ecosystem is set to benefit immensely from Reliance Foundation's Young Champs as its programs include coach education and development; referee development; weekly coaching program for kids; quarterly camps (local) for emerging elite; enablement of Inter-District championship; and Reliance Foundation Young Champs camps in Mumbai to understate match day operations better. RFYC has also donated an ambulance to MFA.

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