“Losing Kenya fans to the World Series might have been the greatest cultural loss any sport has experienced. Best fans in the world from Singapore to Las Vegas.”

This post by a fan @ahoworth97 on X summed up the atmosphere at the Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi during the two day World Rugby Sevens Tier 2 tournament featuring six men’s and women’s teams. For quite some time now, the Kenya 7s team, Shujaa has dazzled at the bigger stage when the Series had 16 and 12 teams.

At every venue, TV cameras have caught Kenya fans and their adopted fans at specific corners christened Kenya Corner. But following a controversial decision to reduce the number of teams from 16 to 12 and finally eight, Kenya as well as Uruguay and the USA were dropped to a newly introduced Tier 2 competition.

Kenya Corner

The decision ‘killed’ Kenya Corner at major events and despite a lively show by Fiji, the atmosphere at the Tier 1 tournaments has been dull. Many empty spaces on the stands with the exception of the second tournament in Cape Town, South Africa continues to haunt World Rugby.

Therefore, the massive crowd in Nairobi served as a reminder to World Rugby of this cultural loss. Whether the atmosphere could be replicated at the remaining two events remains to be seen. For now, the festive atmosphere at the Nyayo National Stadium is etched in the memories of those who attended and served as good marketing for Safari Sevens later in the year.

Herbert Mensah, the Rugby Africa president termed it as a phenomenal experience with packed stadium, roaring fans and unmatched energy.