The 2022 Reliance Foundation Development League was the inaugural season of the

Reliance Foundation Development League The Reliance Foundation Development League is India's first developmental football league organised by the Reliance Foundation in technical support with the All India Football Federation. A total of eight teams participated in the first tournam ...

, the first developmental

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

league organised by Reliance Foundation in technical support with

AIFF Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices. The format was developed by Apple Inc. in 1988 based on Electronic Arts' Interchange File ...

. The season featured eight teams, each playing 7 matches during the season, which was held in

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

from 15 April to 12 May 2022. Bengaluru FC Reserves and Kerala Blasters Reserves were the champions and runners up of the season respectively with both the teams qualifying for the Next Gen Cup to be held in

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Background

In June 2021 it was proposed by the organisers of ISL after a meeting with the CEOs of all the ISL clubs, that a new developmental league, called

, would be introduced in 2022. This new league would consist of the youth and reserve teams of all the ISL clubs, with aim to develop young players as there has been limited number of competitions and leagues outside the ISL since the

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...

. The inaugural season of the proposed two-month league will be held in

inside a bio-secure bubble between January and March, following the same medical and safety procedures for 2021–22 ISL season, but got postponed to April 15. The league was confirmed on 7 April 2022.

Format

The teams would predominantly feature U-21 players with few overage players allowed as well. Each team will play seven matches again each other on a single round basis. A total of 28 matches will be played.

Qualification

The top-two teams will play in the 2022

Next Gen Cup Next Gen Cup or Next Generation Cup officially known as Reliance Foundation Premier League Next Gen Cup is a youth football tournament organised by the Premier League in collaboration with Indian Super League and South African Premier Division, ...

. Bengaluru FC and Kerala Blasters FC confirmed their top-two finish and qualified for the NextGen Cup.

League table

Matches

Matchday – 1

Matchday – 2

Matchday – 3

Matchday – 4

Matchday – 5

Matchday – 6

Matchday – 7

References

{{reflist Reliance Foundation Development League 2021–22 in Indian football leagues