Mumbai: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) have announced a long-term partnership to enable the holistic growth of athletics in India. Reliance Foundation has been a dedicated partner to AFI over the years and now the partnership is set to deepen the engagement between the two organizations.

The partnership aims to discover, nurture and develop Indian athletes from across the country and provide them with world-class facilities, coaching and sports science and medicine support by leveraging the Reliance Foundation ecosystem including the Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics High-Performance Centre and Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital.

In line with the larger vision of the organization, this partnership will have a special focus on girl athletes and aim to bridge the gender divide and enable them to achieve their dreams. As AFI’s principal partner, the Reliance brand will appear across the national team’s jerseys and training kits at key national, international competitions and training camps.

Nita M Ambani, IOC Member, and Director, Reliance Industries Ltd, said, “We are delighted to expand Reliance Foundation’s partnership with the Athletics Federation of India. Athletics is one of the most popular disciplines in global sport, and this association aims to accelerate the growth of Indian athletics by providing opportunities and world-class facilities to our young talent, with a special focus on girls.”

Adille Sumariwalla, President, Athletics Federation of India, said, “We are very thankful to Mrs. Nita Ambani and Reliance Industries, with whom AFI has been working closely over the last few years, for their support as Principal Partner. We have seen our athletics contingent grow at international events, and with a committed partner in Reliance Industries, we are very sure that, soon, we will see an increase in participation and international success across multiple disciplines.” /BI/