Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) and the JSW Bengaluru FC academies have been conferred a two-star academy status by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Bengaluru FC academy is India's only club-operated academy to receive the recognition. For RFYC, the accolade is another feather in the cap after it became the first youth academy in India to be granted a 5-star rating by the AIFF Academy Accreditation process in June 2019.
This is also the first time that a residential academy has been awarded the two-star status by the AFC who expect academies to pass a rigorous set of criteria - including leadership, planning, organisation, staffing, recruitment, finance, facilities, coaching, player health, coaching and fitness requirements - if they are to be conferred with the status.