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Kenya leads push for proposed Africa 7s Rugby Series
Reading Time: 4min | Wed. 11.03.26. | 16:30
The proposal was tabled during the Rugby Africa Annual General Meeting held in Uganda last month
African rugby could soon enter an exciting new chapter if a proposal currently under discussion materialises.
The idea is simple but ambitious: a continental Africa 7s Rugby Series that mirrors the structure of the World Rugby Sevens Series, while drawing inspiration from successful domestic circuits such as Kenya’s National 7s Circuit.
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Picture multiple tournaments hosted in different African countries, with national teams travelling across the continent and accumulating points at every stop!
At the end of the series, the team with the highest tally would be crowned the overall champion.
What has long been a dream among fans and stakeholders might now be inching closer to reality.
The proposal was tabled during the Rugby Africa Annual General Meeting held in Uganda last month.
Kenya has now emerged among the countries leading the push for its implementation.
If the idea takes shape, the popular Safari 7s could form one of the legs of the proposed circuit.
Mozzart Sport chatted with Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) Director of Fixtures and Competitions Leslie Mwangale, who noted that the initiative is driven by the need to give African teams more regular playing opportunities.
“In Kenya, we have two strong teams: Shujaa and Morans, but they do not get enough playing time. At the same time, you can see that the Safari 7s is doing very well,” Mwangale said.
“Because of that, we want to present a proposal to Rugby Africa to establish some form of a 7s circuit within the continent to help develop the game. Currently, the only tournament most African countries participate in is the Rugby Africa Sevens. If a team does not qualify, they do not get the chance to play any other 7s tournaments across the continent,” added Mwangale.
He explained that the proposed circuit would ensure teams remain competitive throughout the year and strengthen the commercial value of sevens rugby across Africa.
“That is why we submitted a proposal to create a circuit in Africa. The number of legs will be discussed and decided later, but the main idea is to introduce a continental circuit that will allow our teams to play regular 7s rugby,” he said.
Mwangale added that Kenya’s Safari 7s already offers a working example of how such tournaments can support both development and revenue generation.
“Kenya already provides a good example with the Safari 7s, which has been working well for us. It not only gives teams more games but also helps raise funds to run our operations. If other federations across the continent can establish similar tournaments, they can build products that are commercially viable while giving their teams more opportunities to compete beyond the Rugby Africa Championship,” he offered.
For a start, organizers are considering launching the circuit with a manageable number of stops.
“We would then determine the most viable destinations to host the tournaments. If every country tries to host one, the circuit may become difficult to schedule. For a start, we are looking at maybe three or four legs
For example, we could have the Safari 7s, the Zambezi 7s, possibly a tournament in Uganda, and maybe another in West Africa, such as Ghana, or even in North Africa in countries like Tunisia.
That way, we can create a proper circuit and at the end of it crown a champion.
More importantly, it will provide more matches for our teams and help grow the 7s game across the continent,” he explained.
The proposal has also received backing from Uganda Rugby Union’s President Godwin Kayangwe, who noted that Africa must begin creating its own competitions rather than relying solely on qualification pathways to global tournaments.
“We have to create our content. We are talking about Africa Series, I think you have seen it on the news.
“Why should we only depend on playing to qualify for the wider series, which now has three sections: Challenger 1, 2, and 3? It is totally difficult to come from one group to the other. But we can have our content; rugby made in Africa,” he added.
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He added that a rotating continental series would allow fans across Africa to engage more consistently with the sport while strengthening the competitiveness of national teams.
“An annual thing which works with our capability, talks to our fans, and they have something to look at. Eventually, our funding increases, player welfare increases, competition becomes stronger, and at the end of the day, it is automatic that we will be knocking at the doors of the world stage".