Kenya fans are expected to return to the terraces to support their team which returns to the World Rugby Sevens Series after sitting out for one season.

Shujaa as the team is popularly known fought their way back to the premier competition after being relegated in the 2022/23 season after a 23-year run. The return has not been easy with the appointment of a new technical bench of Kevin Wambua, Louis Kisia and Andrew Amonde. Working hard behind the scenes has been Chris Brown who was seconded to Kenya Rugby Union by World rugby.

In their run to regain lost glory, the technical bench started on a clean sheet following the retirement of several key players. Sasha Mutai, who took the mantle as KRU chairman boldly promised a return to top-flight rugby.

Self belief saw the team beat South Africa in the Africa championship to qualify for the Olympics. As a result, South Africa took the hard route to reach the Olympics by playing in a Repechage tournament in Monaco barely one month before the Olympics. They won a bronze in Paris.

Kenya’s hopes of returning to the World Series rested on their performance at a second tier tournament, World Rugby Repechage with three tournaments in Dubai, Uruguay and Munich. They finished second to Uruguay and headed to Madrid, Spain for a crucial qualifier that pitted them against the bottom four teams in the World Series. 

They defied all odds by beating Germany to qualify and return to the World Series where they will face Argentina, Australia, Fiji, France, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, Spain, South Africa, Uruguay, and USA. Unfortunately, Africa will miss out in the women’s Series after South Africa were relegated to the repechage. The women’s teams are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Fiji, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Spain and USA.

World Rugby announced the first five venues for the 2024/25 event which kicks off in Dubai on November 30 before landing in Cape Town on December 7. In January, the players head to Perth, Australia for the third leg. Vancouver hosts the third leg in February and the fifth stop is at a new stadium in Hong Kong at the end of March. 

Sam Pinder, the World Rugby Sevens General Manager said: “We are announcing the first destinations now to allow fans to mark their calendars and get prepared to see the stars of the Olympics shine again in some of the world’s most iconic stadiums and destinations, with the dates for the remaining exciting destinations to be confirmed soon.”

Last year saw the introduction of a new variation where the Series champions were decided after the Singapore leg paving way for a Grand Final in Madrid, Spain where the bottom four teams in the Series played in a qualifier to maintain their place in the premier Series. In Madrid, they were joined by the four top teams in the World Rugby Challenger Series.

Speaking at the end of the Grand Final in Madrid, World Rugby officials hinted the city was likely to host the same event the following season. It would not be a surprise if Madrid is named as the venue for the Grand Finale again after the local organizing committee acknowledged they were quickly learning what it takes to host a tournament of such a magnitude.

Over the years, World Rugby has struggled to find willing hosts for the Series. Notably, New Zealand, England, Scotland, and France have dropped off the radar after hosting the event. 

There have been talks of having a leg in South America and the Pacific Islands but these have not been actualized.

Dates of the opening five legs

Dubai: November 30-December 1

Cape Town: December 7-8

Perth: January 24-26

Vancouver: February 21-23

Hong Kong: March 28-30