Why 2022 Safari Sevens was cancelled

Back on 5 October 2022, rugby fans in the country were pierced right through the heart as Kenya Rugby Union (KRU), in a perhaps shameful late night post, announced that the 25th edition of the loved Safari Sevens tournament, which was to take place on 14th -16th October 2022 as initially scheduled, was not going to take place.

“The KRU has today confirmed the postponement of the 25th edition of the Safari Sevens originally set for 14th -16th October 2022 at the RFUEA Ground. The decision to postpone the event has been occasioned by unavoidable circumstances,” they wrote in a statement then.

The timing of the announcement, made only less than two weeks to the start of the event, caught many by surprise as the country’s rugby governing body had defiantly remained confident in staging the event in front of very doubtful journalists during the launch that took place at the Pride Inn Azure hotel in Westlands.

While members of the fourth estate pressed on getting nitty gritties about the event, KRU only gave away the date as to when the event would take place as they kept the remaining cards close to their chest despite a barrage of questions.

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The present officials including chairman Oduor Gangala, vice chairman Moses Ndale and CEO Aggrey Wabulwenyi, refused to reveal the participating teams, the potential sponsors and other vital details that should have been available by that time. In the end, the tournament turned out to be ‘hot air’.

Mozzart Sport can now reveal that a combined recipe of lack of finances, lack of sponsors and poor planning, which consequently made them unable to attract the top rugby teams, is what led to the postponement of the event for only the third time since 1997.

Credible sources told Mozzart Sport that KRU could not raise the budget they had set out for the event and a poor miscommunication ended up coming to bite back at them.

Apparently, the governing body had informed potential invitational teams at the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens held in Cape Town, South Africa that the Safari Sevens would not take place, only to rescind on their decision.

“KRU did not have the money to host the event and they also did not secure adequate sponsors on time. Additionally, there were not going to be any big sides in the tournament because KRU told teams at the World Cup that the Safari Sevens was not going to take place this year. Afterwards, they overturned their decision when teams had already moved on. When they reached out, it was too little too late for them,” the sources told Mozzart Sport.

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Teams that had so far confirmed their participation included hosts Shujaa, Morans and Menengai Oilers alongside Uganda, Zimbabwe and Samurai.

In 2017 the tournament was canceled due to the uncertain political climate within the country due to the Presidential election rerun. In 2020, the event was postponed upon the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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