Cape Town has been named as the host city for the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens.
The announcement was made in Tokyo on Tuesday after the World Rugby Council awarded the hosting rights for the premier tournament to South Africa at its interim meeting.
In September 2022 the eighth edition of the showcase event will take place in Cape Town for the first time Rugby World Cup Sevens is to be hosted on the African continent.
SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux says they are delighted that the premier competition will be held in Cape Town.
‘We have been eager to host global rugby tournaments for a number of years and to have the flagship event in the growing sport of sevens come to South Africa is exciting.
‘We saw how the sport engaged the audience in San Francisco last year and we are certain that it will be just as big a success in Cape Town,’ he explained. ‘The Cape Town Sevens has established itself as a rugby bucket-list tournament in the past few years and we’re sure that international visitors to the event will experience a great tournament at an ideal rugby venue in a fantastic city.’
World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont congratulated South Africa on being elected Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 hosts.
‘We were impressed with South Africa’s detailed and comprehensive bid and we look forward to working in partnership with them on another inspiring and record-breaking tournament.
‘South Africa have a proven track record of delivering a sell-out event in the Cape Town Sevens, which is an esteemed tournament on the world series circuit and will be of huge value to the planning and execution of Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022.’
The awarding of the tournament to South Africa comes after an initial record of 11 unions – Argentina, Cayman Islands, France, Germany, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Qatar, Scotland, South Africa and Tunisia – confirmed their interest to the international federation.
The 2022 Sevens World Cup will take place in September, to accommodate the Sevens Series and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England in July.
Competition dates will be confirmed in due course.
Photo: Archive
