Robert Roelofsen

If anyone embodies the motto "In football, anything is possible", that persons surely is our Head of Youth. In a career spanning 33 years, the Dutchman has coached teams across Europe, Africa, and Asia. 

A Uefa A license holder has even coached at the highest level, having worked as part of the first team coaching setup at Vfl Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.

Stephen Charles

Stephen Charles is the man tasked with travelling the length and breath of the country to find the next batch of Young Champs. Always on the move, Steve manages a vast network of scouts spread across India and ensures that he finds every diamond encrusted needle in a haystack as diverse as India. In 2023, Steve obtained his AFC A Diploma.

Sameer Shaikh

Holding an AFC A License, and an AIFF D and E instructor's license, Sameer has previously had coaching stints with the Liverpool-DSK Shivajians Academy and the Chennaiyin FC Reserve Team while also serving as their Head of Youth Development, after having represented Army Greens at national levels as a player. He has been working with the Reliance Foundation Young Champs since 2019.

Mark Vaessen

Head of Coach Education Mark Vaessen uses his vast knowledge to help upskill the coaches at RFYC and his experiences to advise the Academy when needed.

A player at the youth levels in Netherlands himself, Mark has spent the past 2 decades in various coaching roles in Netherlands and at RFYC in India. 

Mark has previously worked as a technical Youth Director and as a football license educator at CIOS in Arnhem, The Netherlands. From 2015 to 2020, Mark served as the Head of Youth At RFYC.

Jose Marcio Barreto Ramires

Jose Barreto is a decorated former professional football player with over 200 appearances for Indian top division clubs Mohun Bagan and the erstwhile Mahindra United Football Club during his footballing career. A graduate of Gremio’s academy, Barreto played professionally in Japan, Malaysia and India. Post his retirement in 2014, Barreto was appointed as the Assistant Coach of Atlético de Kolkata before joining the Young Champs in 2015.

Gumpe Rime

Head Goalkeeper Coach Gumpe Rime is a former professional goalkeeper with a career spanning over two decades. Gumpe represented clubs such as Mahindra United, Vasco, Salgaocar and Shillong Lajong. He holds an AFC A and an AFC GK Level 3 License. He's also a certified Coach Educator holding an AFC C & AFC GK Level-1 educator's license. Having previously coached at the Tata Football Academy and Shillong Lajong FC, Gumpe has been with the Reliance Foundation Young Champs since 2017.

Saksham Kakkar

Saksham Kakkar started his journey coaching high school football while still in college himself. Having since coached at Kenkre FC, FC Barcelona Academy India, and Bengaluru FC before joining the academy in 2016, Saksham brings over a decade worth of coaching knowledge and experience to the Young Champs. He holds an MSc. in Sports coaching and an AFC A license accreditation. 

Don Arnold Danthi

Coach Arnold serves as the head coach of the U-14s at RFYC. All newly scouted players are entrusted to him to be educated in the ways of the Young Champs. 

Jignesh Antala

Not only does Jignesh serve as a Goalkeeping coach at RFYC, he is also the go-to guy for all day-to-day administration of the Academy! He joined the Reliance Foundation Young Champs in 2015. He holds an AFC B license as well as an AFC Goalkeeper Level 2.

Yashvender Singh

A former Young Champs player himself, Yashvender is the youngest member of the coaching staff. He brings a unique insight into the life of a youth player, and is a tremendous source of knowledge and inspiration for the players at a very young age himself. He holds an AIFF D License, as well as a certificate in Methodolgy ni Youth Football from MBP, Barcelona.

Devan Daniel KP

Coach Devan joined RFYC from Roundglass Punjab FC. Having experienced the footballing culture in India and Italy, Devan brings the best of both worlds to his coaching. He currently holds a UEFA B license.

Aakar Racharla

Aakar Racharla brings a passion for grassroots development along with his AFC B coaching license to RFYC. Working with our Development Squad, Aakar aims to introduce local players to an elite training environment and develop the qualities that make them potential Young Champs.

Padma Rewari

A mother away from home, our head Counsellor and Mentor/Child Welfare Officer holds a Masters in Counselling and Psychotherapy from Indian Global University and M.Sc. in Psychotherapy and Counselling from IPMS. With over 25 years of field experience as a counsellor, Padma has worked with the Tata Insitute of Social Sciences as a psychotherapist working exclusively with child related projects. She has been with the academy since its inception in 2015.

Atharva Tere

Atharva is a well travelled sports science professional with experience in India and abroad, having served as the Head of Sports Science at the Maccabi Haifa Academy in Israel in 2020, and rising up the ranks at Chennaiyin FC in the ISL.

Most recently serving as their Lead Sports Scientist, Atharva has solid experience before he's even turned 30!

He holds a masters in Sports, Health, and Exercise Science from Brunel University, UK.

Aniket Shetty

After completing his Masters in Sports Management, Aniket worked with the high performance department at the HN Reliance Foundation Hospital before joining up with the Reliance Foundation Young Champs in 2020. His work in performance and data analysis is vital in the players' progression.

Varun Ghosh

Varun is in charge of the Strength & Conditioning of the players at Reliance Foundation Young Champs. A highly accomplished strength coach, he has previously worked with the U-19 Indian Mens Cricket Team as their S&C coach. He is a CSCS, and an ASCA Level 1. He holds a BSc. in Sports Science from the University of Waikato, NZ, and an MSc. in Science of Coaching and Performance from Setanta College, Ireland.

Praveen Budhrani

An investment banker by trade, Praveen traded the air conditioned halls of Big Finance for the intense heat of elite sports once he realised his passions lay in maximising the potential of the human body rather than maximising profits. 

He is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Performance Coaching, and holds a CSCS degree from the NSCA

Vignesh PG

Vignesh heads the Video Analysis department at the academy, having previously worked as a scout for ISL club North East United FC. He combines his knowledge and eye for detail to analyse performances and provide video based insights for players and coaches to improve technique and tactics. He holds a BTech from VIT, as well as an AFC C coaching license.

Sahil Shaikh

Sahil completed his MBA in 2017 and spent the next few years honing his skills in video analytics. He joined the Reliance Foundation Young Champs in 2021, and now serves as the analyst for the U-14 team.

Harsh Roy

Lifelong tech and football lover Harsh completed his B.Tech (Computer Science and Engineering) from VIT. Shortly afterwards, he completed his AIFF D license while working as a coach for ARA FC in Ahmedabad. He joined RFYC as a video analyst in 2022, using his love for the sport and knowledge of the domain to help develop young players!

Sarthak Pawar

Sarthak joined the Reliance Foundation Young Champs in 2021 having previously worked with Leeds United as a coach and Doncaster Rovers as a sports psychologist. He holds an MSc. in Sports and Exercise Psychology degree as well as an FA level 2 coaching certification.

Vyakhya Parmar

Vyakhya joined RFYC in 2022 from FC Goa, where she served as the first team psychologist. She holds an MSc. in  Applied Sports and Excercise Psychology.

Nitesh Patel

Nitesh joined the Reliance Foundation Young Champs in 2018 after completing his Masters in Sports Physiotherapy from MYAS. He has previously worked as a physiotherapist for the Indian Universities Fencing and Judo teams (Mens and womens). 

Pushpa Shahi

Dr. Pushpa Shahi has a Masters in Orthopedics and Sports from Rajiv Gandhi University in Bengaluru.

She has previously worked at Sportho Medicine Center in Bengaluru and at the Centre for Sports Science under Development of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) Karnataka.

She has also worked across different sports, including Athletics, Fencing, Swimming, Basketball, Table Tennis,  Triathlon, Badminton, Hockey and Paralympic sports at national and international level.

Kapil Sharma

Experienced physiotherapist Kapil joins us having worked for 8 years in the ISL with various clubs, during which he was part of the team that helped Mumbai City FC win the ISL League Shield as well as the Chammpionship! 

He holds a Masters in Sports Physiotherapy.

Muskaan Lucknowala

Muskaan Lucknowala joined RFYC after completing her Bachelors in Food Nutrition and Dietetics. Being an athlete herself and close in age to the players gives her an added advantage of being able to relate to their needs. Muskaan aims to make educate the children on understanding their specific nutritional requirements and help give them the tools to self monitor and regulate their nutrition in the long run.

Santosh Gowda

Santosh Gowda is the man entrusted with ensuring that our players have high quality surfaces to train and play on all through the year. Working with the Reliance Foundation Young Champs since 2017, Santosh holds a PG Diploma in Turf science and Turf Management

Nihal Colaco

Former professional player Nihal Colaco joins RFYC the Media team at RFYC after spending his early career at FC Bengaluru United. 

Having his playing career cut short due to injury, Nihal pivoted quickly and moved to a career in sports media and marketing. He led the media department at FCBU and helped create and grow their online presence before joining RFYC. 

Shubham Kapoor

Shubham Joined RFYC in the 2022/23 season after spending 6 years at AIFF. Starting off as an intern, he worked his way up the ladder, serving as the Assistant Manager - Coach Education, learning at the feet of renowned coach Savio Medeira.