"Make children smile": Nita Ambani's message for MI players ahead of special ESA match vs RR

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 24 (ANI) Founder and chairman of Reliance Foundation Nita Ambani encouraged the Mumbai Indians to play "with their heart" and put smiles on children's faces during their final Indian Premier League 2026 match against Rajasthan Royals, which will be a special match dedicated to the Education and Sports for All, the flagship initiative of the Reliance Foundation and Mumbai Indians. For thousands of children, ESA Match Day is about much more than simply watching a cricket match. The initiative seeks to create lifelong memories through the power of sport, education and inspiration, while giving young fans an opportunity many only dream of.

Mumbai Indians, led by Hardik Pandya, have already been knocked out of the IPL 2026 playoff race after winning four and losing eight of their 12 matches so far. Speaking ahead of the match, Nita urged MI players that they should play with a smile on their faces and make the children smile too and announce that for the first time, visually challenged children will be coming to see the match too as a part of the initiative.

"Exciting day tomorrow. Keep the smiles alive. You all also smile and make the children also smile, okay? We have 20,000 children coming from all kinds of underprivileged backgrounds. And for the first time ever, we have the visually challenged, the blind children coming. They can hear and feel the excitement. They have never been to a stadium before. And all that they want to do is to hear Mumbai Indians. All they want to do is feel the excitement that you are going to give them," she said. She also revealed an anecdote from one of the special ESA matches, revealing how a girl, who was sitting with a cake inside her snack box, refused to eat it without sharing it with her brother back home, who had never tasted it before.

"ESA (Education and Sports for All) is present in all the states of India. At this moment, we have touched the lives of 29 million children. As you all know, we have been working for this for the last 16 years. I just have one more story to tell you, is that... that is the day I sit with the children in the stadium. And we give them snack boxes. So I'm sitting there and this girl was having her snack box. And she was not eating her cake. And she told me, "Didi, you know what, my brother has never tasted cake before. And I do not want to taste it before him. So I'm saving it for my brother to take it home and both of us will eat together," she said. On a parting note, she said, "These are just simple joys that you can never imagine. It is my endeavour to spread the message far and wide to say girls and boys, both are equal. And both deserve equal right to education and sport. And I just want you all to have just one promise, and all that we are going to endeavour to do tomorrow is to spread joy to them. This is one match that I want you to play with your heart. Thank you so much."

ESA began as a small initiative in 2010 and has since grown into one of the country's prominent programmes promoting education and sports development under the guidance of Nita Ambani. The initiative has reached more than 29 million children across India through support for non-governmental organisations and year-round educational and sporting activities. Driven by the belief that every child deserves the right to learn and play, ESA focuses on holistic development by improving sports infrastructure, coaching, training and access to equipment across multiple disciplines. (ANI)

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