Awards at the event

Indian Super League, ISL, also presented awards for 'Best Grassroots Program.' Under this, Ranbir Kapoor's Mumbai City Football Club won the first award, which was cash prize of Rs. 1.25 crore. The second prize was of Rs. 75 lakh, which was bagged by Delhi Dynamos Football Club owned by Sameer Manchanda.

Eminent personalities were present at the event to award scholarships to the kids. These included Founder and Chairperson of Reliance Foundation and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), Nita Ambani; Prominent actor, Amitabh Bachchan and Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis.

Some other personalities present in the event were owners of the varied franchisees. Sachin Tendulkar of Kerala Blasters, Abhishek Bachchan of Chennaiyin Football Club and John Abraham of North East United Football Club gave their attendance. Besides, Praful Patel, President of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) was also present.

Views of the Founder

According to a release Nita Ambani said, "I am delighted that Reliance Foundation's vision to develop talent at the grassroots has taken its first big leap today." She feels that this has been possible because of the participation and dedication of all the eight franchisees of Indian Super League (ISL). She is hopeful that this grassroots football movement, in future will become the backbone of Indian football.

She shared that Reliance Foundation and FSDL are of the belief that sports and education both are equally necessary. She further added that the organizations strive to provide both to their students, refine their skills and help them to recognize their potential to the fullest.

Selection process

Kids in thousands had participated in the football camps organized by the eight ISL franchisees, across India. Selection trials were conducted in these camps. Around 200 students were picked and chosen for a week's trial at Mumbai. This trial was supervised by Technical Director of ISL Grassroots Program, Piet Hubersand Head Coach of the RFYC program, Marcus Vaessen.

Out of the 200, 24 most talented students were awarded the scholarships. Their training session will begin in June.

ISL grassroots program

Reliance Foundation joined hands with FSDL, ISL Clubs, and three NGOs to roll out the ISL grassroots program. The three NGOs are Slum Soccer, Magic Bus and Yuwa. Through the program, Reliance Foundation aims at providing a platform to develop football in the country at the grassroots level. The program will also help to find talented kids from across the country and polish their skills. The program has an objective to reach out to 10 lakh youngsters in the initial years and provide them with excellent football practices.