IOC President Thomas Bach Commends Reliance Foundation’s Alignment With Olympic Values

Mumbai, October 12, 2023: During his opening address on the first day of the IOC Executive Board meeting in Mumbai, IOC President Thomas Bach commended the efforts of Reliance Foundation and Mrs. Nita M Ambani. Mr. Bach expressed his admiration for what he witnessed during his visit to the Reliance Foundation Young Champs Academy in Navi Mumbai. He shared his thoughts on October 12th before the EB meeting, praising the initiatives of the foundation in the domains of sports and education.

“I had a visit together with our IOC colleague and friend Nita Ambani to their Reliance Foundation and the programs they’re offering there to the kids and youth with regard to sport and education. I’m really deeply impressed by Reliance and her team because you see kids from all over India in this center. And most of them are coming from underprivileged families and they are being offered education and schooling. But at the same time, they are given the opportunity to train and to prepare for becoming an athlete, a high-level athlete,” remarked Mr. Bach.

Mr. Bach particularly appreciated the approach taken by Reliance Foundation and its Chairperson and IOC member, Mrs. Ambani, noting that it perfectly aligned with Olympic values. He said, “This is something that exactly reflects our Olympic values and our approach, which we have in our strategies. But to see it on such a scale and being done, you know, by a private entity, which is the Reliance Foundation, guided by our colleague – that’s really very, very impressive and very encouraging also for the future of sport, of Olympic sport in India.”

Earlier in the week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Museum had joined forces with Reliance Foundation to build upon the success of the Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP) in India, signing a new cooperation agreement. This agreement underlines the shared commitment of both organizations to promote Olympic values through sport among young people. The accord was reached during the visit of IOC President Thomas Bach and Nita Ambani, IOC Member in India and Reliance Foundation Founder Chairperson, to the Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) football academy in Mumbai, a visit referenced by Mr. Bach in his address.