Rio 2016: Rugby Sevens Regional Qualifiers Set to Begin

With global excitement building ahead of rugby sevens’ Olympic Games debut at Rio 2016, World Rugby has announced the location and dates for the regional qualification tournaments that will qualify six men’s and six women’s teams to the Games.

The top-four teams in the respective men’s and women’s World Rugby Sevens Series standings are set to secure their places in the coming weeks. Brazil has been granted automatic qualification for both men and women by World Rugby as the host nation for the Games. Attention now turns to the race to secure a coveted place via the regional qualifiers.

A men’s and a women’s team will qualify from each of the six regional Olympic qualification tournaments, that will take place between June and November 2015.

World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “This exciting announcement marks another significant milestone as the global rugby family counts down to rugby sevens’ Olympic Games debut at Rio 2016 when we will see rugby’s first Olympians in more than 92 years competing on sport’s greatest stage.”