Mumbai, Oct 20 (IANS): with a host of initiatives designed to give Indian grassroots football a major boost, more than 2400 teams across schools and colleges set to participate in the upcoming Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS), 2022-2023 season, the organisers said in a release on Thursday.

This season with the resumption of a full calendar, there will be an increased focus on giving exposure to greater no. of quality games to the top teams, while also looking at multiple other initiatives to grow the ecosystem.

This season RFYS plans to reach across 20 centres that include multiple districts within 18 states to develop the football ecosystems, such as Assam, Odisha, Delhi NCR, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Telangana, and more.

Since its inception in 2016, RFYS has aimed to provide a platform for young athletes to build a career in the sport of their choice, to get more students to start playing sports and to have a positive impact on the ecosystem through skill enhancement of PE teachers, infrastructure upgrades and community engagement programs. With the partnerships with professional football clubs, there is also an opportunity for players to be scouted by football clubs, thus paving the pathway for a professional football career.

In addition to the focus on providing high-quality football competitions to the teams and athletes, RFYS will look to run multiple initiatives to strengthen the ecosystem and provide greater opportunities to the youth.