Tag: Africa

Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 to take place from 9-11 September, 2022; New striking RWC Sevens 2022 brand and RWCSevens.com website unveiled; RWC Sevens 2022 will be contested by 24 men’s and 16 women’s teams; New qualification process will see non-qualified teams qualify only through regional competitions; 16 men’s places and 11 women’s places available for non-qualified teams; South Africa’s women secure automatic qualification as tournament hosts.

World Rugby (www.World.rugby) and hosts South Africa Rugby today confirmed Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 in Cape Town will take place from 9-11 September, 2022.

The eighth edition is the first to be hosted in Africa with organisers anticipating a very special and record-breaking event at the iconic 57,654 capacity Cape Town Stadium.

Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 will be contested by 24 men’s and 16 women’s teams.

The top eight men’s teams and top four women’s teams from the hugely successful RWC Sevens 2018 in San Francisco, USA, have already secured automatic qualification for the tournament in 2022.

The qualified teams for the men’s event are defending champions New Zealand, England, South Africa Fiji, Argentina, USA, France, Scotland, while defending champions New Zealand, France, Australia and USA have already booked their tickets to the women’s event in Cape Town. South Africa’s women will join them as the host nation.

Teams that have not qualified automatically will do so via their respective regional tournaments held in Europe, Oceania, Asia, North America, South America, and Africa. With 16 places available in the men’s tournament and 11 in the women’s from regional competitions.

The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series will no longer form part of the qualification pathway for Rugby World Cup Sevens. Regional qualification is expected to start in August of this year with further details to be announced at a later stage.

World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “We are delighted to announce the tournament dates for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 alongside the unveiling of a striking new brand that truly captures the unique, fun and carnival spirit of the tournament.

“This is an exciting time for rugby sevens with less than 70 days to go until the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo and now with Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 also on the horizon. South Africa has a rich history in hosting world-class international rugby sevens events, and we anticipate that Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 will once again raise the bar for this unique tournament and be like no other.”

“South African rugby is eager to turn the vibrancy of this new brand into the vibrancy of a packed live event where we can showcase both our country and our passion for the sport,” said Mr Mark Alexander, president of SA Rugby. “This will be the first senior World Cup we have hosted since 1995 and we are determined to make it as special in its own way.

“The HSBC Cape Town Sevens has established itself as a major must-see event on our national sporting calendar, but we will be taking Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 to the next level.”

Alongside confirmation of the dates and new qualification pathway, the bespoke tournament brand, developed by World Rugby and SA Rugby, has also been unveiled.

The striking brand radiates unity, energy and passion and celebrates the spirit of rugby sevens that will ignite Cape Town’s finest rugby stage, as the top men’s and women’s teams from around the world compete to be crowned world champions.

World Rugby Chief Marketing Officer Marissa Pace today said “Our goal is to ignite Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 with a bold event mark, reflecting the fast pace and dynamic play of Sevens, but also the vibrancy of Cape Town and South Africa. With Table Mountain at the heart of the new logo, our team has also included elements within to represent both the event year and the iconic Cape Town Stadium. We look forward to watching the brand come to life via our partners and hosts South Africa Rugby.”

The tournament is expected to build on the massively successful 2018 edition hosted at AT&T Park in San Francisco, which attracted record attendance for a rugby event in the USA with a total attendance of more than 100,000 fans.

In addition, RWC Sevens 2018 attracted cumulative domestic and global broadcast audiences of more than 24 million and 31 million viewers respectively, which included a record-breaking live broadcast audience of 1.7 million on its final day. The tournament also leveraged 22.5 million social media video views on World Rugby channels over the course of the event.

Details of the ticket sales launch will be announced later this year.

In the spirit of uniting Africa through sport, Khaled Babbou The President of Rugby Africa (www.RugbyAfrique.com) officially launched the #AfricaAsOne campaign, which has set off to echo support for all of Africa’s representatives taking African Rugby to the international field of play. Speaking on the freshly cut green, he emphasised Rugby Africa’s commitment to delivering teams from their preparation games, all the way to international fixtures such as the Olympic Games and others.

Currently only South Africa and Kenya have qualified for the Olympic Games in the men’s category. But Uganda and Zimbabwe still stand a chance through the Olympic Repechage. The Olympic Repechage is due to take place in Monaco on the 19th and 20th of June with the Olympic Games Tokyo starting on the 26th to the 28th of July for Men.

Through the leadership of Rugby Africa, African teams will be coming together to prepare the qualified teams for the Olympic Games and Olympic Repechage with friendly tournaments and shared preparation camps.

With Covid-19, opportunities to play have been limited and it has proven difficult for some teams to travel outside Africa. This will be a first of its kind initiative, where the term Solidarity really takes on its full meaning. Teams will share their experiences and learn from each other in the process. Even though these games are only friendly encounters, teams will gauge themselves against some of the best teams on the continent, to prove that they can compete at the highest level.

According to Andrew Owor, President Rugby Committee and Vice-President Rugby Africa the Men’s Sevens Solidarity Camp inauguration will take place on  6th May, and end on the16th of May and as usual, much action, speed and intensity is expected for the fans of the sport.

Steph Nel, Rugby Services Manager for Africa at World Rugby announced that the venue for this season’s fixtures will be at the leafy Stellenbosch Academy of Sports and Markotter Sports Field in South Africa.

Neil Powell, Coach Sevens Blitzboks spoke broadly on the readiness of his squad. According to Coach Powell, The Springbok Sevens team returned to full training at their Stellenbosch Academy of Sport base this week, with their eyes firmly fixed on their main goal for the season- success at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in July.

‘We are extremely grateful for these tournaments, organised by Rugby Africa, to give ourselves and Kenya another opportunity to prepare for the games and hand Uganda and Zimbabwe playing time as they prepare for the repechage tournament to the Olympics, that will take place in Monaco in June,” said Coach Powell.

Michael Wandera Team Manager Uganda, which will be participating this season, also chorused Powell’s sentiments by thanking Rugby Africa for yet again dedicating time, resources and leadership in building the sport continentally and most importantly providing a platform for teams to be globally competitive.

Erick Ogweno Team Manager of Kenya looks forward to a stellar performance from his athletes, believing that they have invested much in discipline and endurance, which will guarantee the speed and agility of his squad for the field of play. He exclaimed that the appetite for the sport has seen tremendous growth in Kenya over the years and it is now more than ever important for the coaching staff and players to deliver wins for the fans in Kenya.

John Ewing, Team Manager Zimbabwe, anticipates an explosive encounter for his team, which he has calibrated for a clinical performance in the games scheduled. He spoke much of how teams have been through many challenges around training due to Covid-19 related restrictions. However, he strongly believes that much of what will decide the result of this year’s Camp, will be based on the team that was most resourceful in the grey areas of preparation.

Streaming live from Rugby Africa platforms, this year’s Men’s Sevens Solidarity Camp will bring together champions of African Sevens Rugby under one camp. Fans will also be able to watch highlights on the action-packed fixtures on Supersport, where they will be able to see interviews and snapshots as well. The Men’s Sevens Solidarity Camp promises to change the face of Rugby in Africa, open new ways, and opportunities for collaboration amongst coaching staff, players and more importantly fans.

Overall, this initiative will grow the influence of Rugby in Africa, drawing more inquisitive eyes to the oval-ball. Such Solidarity will inspire both young and old, to follow a sport that has already taught Africa that it is possible to be a dominating world champion. It is in this spirit that Andrew Owor, Vice President of Rugby Africa, and President of the Rugby Committee, wished all the participating teams the best of luck in the forthcoming Men’s Solidarity Camp.

Quick Facts: Men’s Sevens Solidarity Camp:

• Dates: 6 – 16 May
• Venue: Stellenbosch Academy of Sports and Markotter Sports Field
• Teams arrive: 6 May
• Tournament: 8 & 9 May – 14 & 15 May
• Teams: South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe

At the request of the Moroccan NOC, this day was created in 2013 by the United Nations General Assembly

Globally, sport has reached a stage of development that no other human activity can boast of. Its impact on societies and unifying power gives it the responsibility of putting itself at the service of peace

To start off, what does international day of sports for development and peace mean to you?

At the request of the Moroccan NOC, this day was created in 2013 by the United Nations General Assembly. It reflects the importance of sports, which is present in every household with its economic, political, social and above all educational functions.

What is Rugby Ready training? Please feel free to use any images and statistics as well.

The Rugby Ready program is a support and educational training tool, with its objective being to promote enjoyable and fun playing rugby while minimizing the risk of injury.

Player health is the priority at all levels of the game.

Rugby Ready is also a perfect complement to the programs set up by some World Rugby member unions, with Rugby Africa having very satisfactory numbers of participants – second World Rugby region.

You deliver conferences on the theme of Sports and Peace. Please elaborate on the connection between sport and peace? Can you share examples where sport or more particularly rugby has been used to foster peace?

Globally, sport has reached a stage of development that no other human activity can boast of. Its impact on societies gives it an incomparable mobilization potential. This unifying power gives it the responsibility of putting itself at the service of peace.

For concrete examples, I will cite the following cases:

Fist Ping-pong diplomacy initiated in 1971 between China and the USA
The attribution of the 1988 Olympic Games to China (global symbolism)
The joint organization of the football world cup in Japan and South Korea (despite the historical disputes and the poisoned relations)
The (unsuccessful) joint candidacy of Turkey and Greece for the organization of the European Football Championship (UEFA 2008)

In rugby:

The organization of the 3rd Rugby World Cup in South Africa which has contributed to bringing together the entire population of the country.
The participation of the Libyan National Rugby Team in the Arab 7’S Championship (February 2021) where the team was made up of the 2 “war” regions East and West.

You put a lot of emphasis on the values of rugby. May you please list them and explain why they matter and how they define rugby?

The values ​​of rugby are solidarity, integrity, respect, passion and discipline. These are ethical and moral benchmarks to which athletes and public opinion must refer; they guide people in their daily lives with a taste for effort and perseverance. It is also a philosophy that transcends all borders in sport, at school, at home and at work. If I had to classify these values, I would put RESPECT first.

The conferences are targeting teachers, unions administrators, students. Does your approach and message differ depending on the targeted groups?

As a former teacher – the content of the message remains the same, the form differs a little. The ‘speaker’ approach is used with students, players, and administrators. Whilst the ‘moderator’ approach is used with teachers and coaches.

What do you expect your audience to take out of these conferences? If there is one key learning point to remember, what would it be?

I am trying to convey the following message to my audience:

Every day, around the world, millions of sports competitions (“conflicts”) are organized and supervised at school, university, sports federations, regional confederations, international federations, Olympic committees, etc.

These “conflicts” are instituted by the rule and its respect; they serve, in filigree, to:

Bringing competitors closer together rather than dividing them
Promote team spirit
Solidarity in difficulty
Establish equal opportunities
Push towards excellence
Celebrate merit
Convert the rugby player into a good citizen of his country or even of the world.

Please share any other initiatives you have in the pipeline to commemorate such occasions.

I consider schools and universities to be a breeding ground for the development of rugby and I keep close contact with the universities.

Also, I am trying to set up a continental cooperation with the African University Sports Federation (FASU) which will be relayed at the national level by the various federations affiliated to Rugby Africa. In this sense, I host several conferences, each year, on the occasion of the International Day of Sport.