The Indian Super League organizers have planned to commence a new league for its constituting clubs which will be known as Reserve League. This will be done to promote the Under-21 talents in these clubs who do not manage a lot of game time in the main team. The tournament will start from April.
ISL has made it compulsory for ISL clubs to sign a minimum of 4 development players who are born on or after January 1, 2001. Two of these players need to be part of the match-day squad. A lot of these players don’t manage a lot of game time. This has made the organizers plan for another league to keep the unused players engaged. This way players who do not get a chance will benefit.
Moreover, in an independent reserves league, the ISL will have the freedom to increase the number of matches and in turn extend the duration of the tournament. This will be very beneficial for all the developing players as they will constantly be in the run-in.
Eight teams from ISL will field their reserve teams in the league – Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin FC, FC Goa, Jamshedpur FC, Kerala Blasters FC, Mumbai City FC, Odisha FC and Hyderabad FC. As of now, SC East Bengal, ATK Mohun Bagan and North East United FC will not participate in the league due to the inability to form a team.
Apart from the ISL clubs, Reliance Foundation Young Champs are also going to take part in the tournament as club sources can confirm. Since launching their academy in 2015, RFYC has done exceptionally well and throughout the years they have become one of the best academies in India. In recent years, RFYC progressed step by step and in 2020 the first batch of RFYC produced as many as 7 graduates who were given professional contracts by ISL clubs.
