Kenya Sevens learn schedule for the 2024 HSBC Sevens Challenger Series

RUGBY Kenya Sevens learn schedule for the 2024 HSBC Sevens Challenger Series

Mark Kinyanjui 18:38 - 22.11.2023

Shujaa will be taking part in the competition and will use it as a pathway to win back promotion to the World Series.

Details of the 2024 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger, in which the Kenya national sevens team, Shujaa is set to take part in, have been announced.

Three rounds will be taking place over three continents between January and May, providing a clear promotion pathway to return to the highest level for the 2025 season.

The top four placed men’s and women’s 2024 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger teams, based on cumulative series points at the conclusion of the third round, will secure their opportunity to compete in the new high-stakes promotion and relegation play-off competition at the SVNS Grand Final in Madrid on 31 May - 2 June 2024 against the teams ranked ninth to 12th from HSBC SVNS 2024.

Four successful nations from this Grand Final play-off will secure their place in HSBC SVNS 2025, while the other four teams will compete in their regional qualification tournaments to earn the right to compete in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger 2025.  

The 2024 edition of the Challenger Series kicks off with combined events at the Sevens Stadium in Dubai on 12-14 January, followed by Estadio Charrúa in Montevideo, Uruguay on 8-10 March before standalone women’s and men’s events at Henryk Reyman's Municipal Stadium in Krakow, Poland and Dantestadion in Munich, Germany respectively on 18-19 May.

All World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024 events will include the 12 men's and 12 women's nations from around the world who have qualified through regional competitions and the pool draw is expected to take place in Dubai during the opening round of HSBC SVNS 2024 in December 2023.

The teams that have qualified for the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024 through their regional competitions are: Portugal, Georgia, and Germany men and Poland, Belgium, and Czechia women from Rugby Europe, Uruguay and Chile men and Argentina and Paraguay women from Sudamerica Rugby, Kenya, and Uganda men and women from Rugby Africa and Mexico men and women from Rugby Americas North.

HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger 2024 dates:

Dubai, UAE – 12-14 January (men and women)

Montevideo, Uruguay – 8-10 March, 2024 (men and women)

Krakow, Poland - 18-19 May, 2024 (women) 

Munich, Germany – 18-19 May, 2024 (men)

What does the challenger series entail?

The Sevens Challenger was introduced in February 2020 to boost the development of rugby sevens across the globe and provide a clear promotion pathway to reach the top level of global rugby sevens.

The tournaments replicate the Olympic Games competition format, with the 12 teams drawn into three pools of four. The top two from each as well as the two best third-placed finishers will qualify for the knockout stages with quarter-finals and semi-finals leading to the third place and gold medal matches.

Japan were the inaugural men’s champions after topping the cumulative rankings from the two rounds hosted in Chile and Uruguay in 2020. The first women’s competition was scheduled to take place in Stellenbosch in March 2020 but had to be cancelled due to the onset of the global pandemic.

Following a one-year absence the Sevens Challenger returned in August 2022 with a standalone combined event hosted in Santiago, Chile, which saw Uruguay men and Japan women take the titles and secure promotion to the Series.

Stellenbosch, South Africa hosted two combined events in 2023 with South Africa women earning their spot at HSBC SVNS 2024 while Tonga men’s victory secured their spot at the World Rugby Sevens Play-off in London last year.

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