The national group stage of the Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL) began this week in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Imphal. Five teams in four zones will compete in five rounds of matches comprising a total of 40 games. Each team will play four matches each in the leg. Twenty teams have qualified for the national qualifiers after being eliminated from their respective groups from the regional qualifiers, playing 10 games each.
The regional qualifiers delivered on their promise, producing some intriguing matches and several surprising results, making it an inclusive group of teams pitted against each other. The four groups feature an exciting mix of ISL, I-League and SFA clubs competing for the ultimate silverware and the opportunity of international sporting exposure.
The top team in the respective group will qualify to play in the Next Generation Cup at the end of next month.
Watch the recap of the qualifiers here:
South Zone – LIFFA Trivandrum, Kerala Blasters, FC Goa, Srinidi Deccan and Bengaluru FC will compete in the Bangalore leg of the qualifiers.
Bengaluru and Srinidhi finished in the top two spots of their table in the regional qualifiers as they faced stiff competition from the likes of Chennaiyin FC and even FC Bengaluru United. They both won six of the 10 games they played but Bengaluru ended with 21 points as compared to Srinidhi’s 19 as they lost only one game while the latter lost thrice. FC Goa assistant coach Gouramangi Singh on RFDL
• Similarly, LIFFA Trivandrum made it to the national level by securing the second position in the top-ranked group in Muthoot FA. FC Goa were in excellent form at the regional level as they scored a maximum of 26 points out of 30 and remained unbeaten in their qualifiers to make it to this stage of the tournament.
• LIFFA Trivandrum will take on Kerala Blasters while FC Goa will take on Srinidhi Deccan on April 26.
• In the second round, Bengaluru FC and Kerala Blasters will take on LIFFA Trivandrum and FC Goa respectively on April 29. Bengaluru will then take on Srinidi Deccan while LIFFA Trivandrum will play against FC Goa on May 2.
• The junior teams of Indian Super League (ISL) clubs FC Goa and Bengaluru FC will lock horns on May 5 while Srinidhi Deccan and Kerala Blasters will play later the same day. Srinidhi and Kerala Blasters will play against Trivandrum and Bengaluru FC respectively on May 9 at LIFFA.
All the matches of the Bangalore leg will be held at the Bangalore Football Stadium (BFS).
northern region – Delhi Sudeva, Chavanpui, Garhwal, Chanmari and Muthoot FA are participating in the Delhi leg of the qualifiers.
• Sudeva and Garhwal were the two best teams in their respective groups in the regional qualifiers. They had 20 and 17 points respectively as they fended off competition from the likes of Roundglass Punjab FC and Rajasthan United FC. Similarly, Chawanpui and Chanmari earned 20 points each in their 10 games, though Chawanpui topped the table on goal difference.
• Sudeva and Garhwal have already started their campaign on Chawanpui and Chanmari respectively on 23rd April. Chanmari and Chavanpui will take on Sudeva and Muthoot on April 26. 29 April.
• Garhwal and Chanmari will play against Muthoot and Chavanpui respectively on May 2, while the leg off round will see Chavanpui face Garhwal and Muthoot against Sudeva on May 5.
All the matches of the Delhi leg will be held in Civil Lines.
Eastern area – Imphal Shillong Lajong, Classic Football Academy, Northeast United, SAI-RC and ATK Mohun Bagan have made it to the Imphal leg of the National Group Stage Qualifiers.
• Shillong Lajong and Highlanders were tied on points (24) during the regional qualifiers and that paved their way to the national level. The Classic also had a good performance, with 23 points from 10 matches while SAI-RC finished third on the points table. ATK Mohun Bagan was part of the group that had East Bengal and Mohammedan SC and Mariners sandwiched between the other two clubs from Bengal in the standings. Former Indian professional footballer JeJ Lalpekhlua lauds RFDL’s contribution
• SAI-RC had a relatively moderate display compared to the rest of the national level teams as they managed five wins from 10 matches and finished third in their group behind Classic and North Eastern Sporting Union.
• Shillong Lajong and Northeast United have already started their run with matches against Classic and SAI-RC on 24th April.
• The second round will take place on April 27 with Northeast United and Classic taking on ATK Mohun Bagan and SAI-RC respectively. Next, Mohun Bagan will play SAI-RC and Shillong Lajong will take on Northeast United on April 30.
• On May 3, Classic and ATK Mohun Bagan will face NorthEast United and Shillong Lajong respectively. The leg will conclude on May 6 with SAI-RC taking on Shillong Lajong and the Classic against Mohun Bagan.
All the matches of the Imphal phase will be held at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) campus.
West Zone – Mumbai- Reliance Foundation Young Champs, Ramthar Weng, Velsao SCC, Mumbai City FC and East Bengal are participating in the Mumbai leg of the qualifiers.
• Reliance Foundation Young Champs and Mumbai City FC were in the top two spots of their qualifiers, with the former winning all 10 of their games to finish the qualifiers with 30 points. Velsao, part of the group with five other clubs from Goa, finished second behind Gaur, although they were nine points behind Gaur in the qualifiers.
• Ramthar Weng were placed third in their regionals behind Chawanpui and Chanmari as they gave a tough fight to the other two clubs and ended their campaign with only one point less (19) than them (20).
• Ramthar Wages and Reliance Foundation Young Champs begin their journey on April 25 against Velsao SCC and Mumbai City FC respectively. East Bengal will face Ramthar Weng in the second leg and Reliance Foundation Young Champs will play against Velsao SCC in this leg. Competition on 28th April
• The third round begins on May 1 with Velsao SCC and East Bengal taking on Mumbai City FC and Reliance Foundation Young Champs respectively. Final round on 4th May
East Bengal and Ramthar Veng will face off against Velsao SCC and Mumbai City FC respectively in the final round on May 7.
All the matches of the Mumbai leg will be held at the Reliance Corporate Park (RCP).
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