South Africa and Tunisia have joined nine other countries to formally express interest in hosting the 2022 Rugby Sevens World Cup.
A record eleven unions –Argentina, Cayman Islands, France, Germany, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Qatar, Scotland, South Africa, and Tunisia -confirmed their expression of interest to the international federation by the March 31 deadline, having reviewed the detailed bid guide.
The record level of interest is a strong endorsement of the sevens format, which is the driving force behind record rugby fan growth – particularly among young people in emerging rugby markets. It was a major factor behind sevens’ inclusion in the Olympic Games programme, debuting in style at Rio 2016.
“We are delighted with the record level of interest. With a core objective of growing the global rugby fan and participation footprint, it is superb to see new interest from emerging rugby nations, which is great for the sport,” said World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont.
“We now move forward to a detailed phase of consultation and evaluation against set operational, team, fan and legacy criteria before the World Rugby Council selects the 2022 host at the interim meeting in Tokyo in October.”
Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 will be played during the September and October window, considering the international calendar, including the World Rugby Sevens Series and the Commonwealth Games that will take place in July 2022. The event will again comprise 24 men’s and 16 women’s teams and will be played over three days in one venue.
The unions have been issued the formal bid application documents and now have until July 16, 2019 to submit their responses.
