Nairobi is the place to be this weekend for every Rugby Nation in Africa
Editor
The 2026 Africa Women’s Sevens Championship kicks off on Saturday, 7 November at the RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi, Kenya, bringing together 11 of Africa’s leading women’s national sevens teams for two days of high-intensity rugby.
Organised by Rugby Africa as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations, this year’s edition will double as the World Rugby HSBC SVNS 3 Africa Qualifiers, raising the stakes beyond the continental title. The best-placed team, excluding South Africa, will earn Africa’s sole ticket to the World Rugby SVNS 3 tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, scheduled for 27-29 November 2026.
A Tournament With History
First instituted in 2004, the Africa Women’s Sevens is Africa’s continental championship for women’s international rugby sevens. It has grown from a small North African competition to a major continental event and a recognised pathway to the Olympic Games, World Cup Sevens, Challenger Series and now the SVNS Series.
South Africa are the defending champions and the most successful team in the history of the competition, with 13 titles. Kenya won the title once in 2018, while Tunisia won once in 2012. Only these three nations have ever lifted the trophy.
In the 2025 edition, also staged at the RFUEA Grounds, South Africa defeated Kenya 22-0 in the final to retain the title.
2026 Teams and Pools
The 11 participating teams have been drawn into three pools:
Pool A: South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda
Pool B: Kenya (Hosts), Tunisia, Ghana
Pool C: Uganda, Madagascar, Mauritius, Burkina Faso
Hosts Kenya, known as the Lionesses, will open their campaign in Pool B against Ghana and Tunisia on Day 1. Defending champions South Africa headline Pool A, while Uganda, Madagascar, Mauritius and Burkina Faso will contest Pool C.
Day 1 fixtures will commence at 9:00am EAT on Saturday, 7 November 2026, with pool matches running through to 4:40 PM EAT. Knockout rounds, classification matches and the final will be played on Sunday, 8 November 2026.
NIGERIA MISSING
Notably absent from the 2026 championship is Nigeria.
Despite being Africa’s most populous nation and a country with a growing domestic rugby base in Lagos, Edo, Delta, Kano, Kaduna, Abia, Imo and Rivers States, the Nigeria women’s national sevens team — the Lady Stallions — will not be in Nairobi.
Experts of the game say that Nigeria’s absence is not due to a lack of talent, but a lack of continental ranking and continuity.
The Lady Stallions have struggled to maintain a consistent presence in the Africa Women’s Sevens in recent years. After a World Rugby suspension in 2021 following government interference in federation administration, Nigeria missed key qualification windows, including the Africa Women’s Cup and the Paris 2024 Olympic pre-qualifiers. The team returned to international competition in 2022 and participated at the 2024 African Games in Ghana, where it lost all its group matches, including to Ghana — a nation Nigeria had helped develop its rugby programme in 2008.
While the men’s programme has shown signs of progress, it also faces a reality check. In the 2026 Africa Men’s Sevens Series, which concluded on 4 October 2026 in Mauritius, Nigeria’s Black Stallions finished 10th overall out of 12 teams, dropping three places from 7th in 2025.
In the crucial SVNS 3 Qualifier leg in Kampala, Uganda (27 September), Nigeria finished 6th out of 8 teams — 2 wins, 3 losses, 77 points scored, 108 conceded — beating Ghana but losing the 5th-place playoff 19-7 to Tunisia. Home-based star Daniel John was named team MVP.
The final 2026 Africa Men’s Sevens standings were: 1. Kenya, 2. Madagascar, 3. South Africa A, 4. Burkina Faso, 5. Zimbabwe, 6. Uganda, 7. Morocco, 8. Zambia, 9. Tunisia, *10. Nigeria*, 11. Senegal, 12. Ghana.
Zimbabwe won the Uganda leg 26-19 against hosts Uganda to claim Africa’s sole ticket to HSBC SVNS 3 2027, while Kenya beat Madagascar 15-12 in Mauritius to win their 7th African title.
The women’s programme is still rebuilding. In its 2026 calendar, the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (NRFF) acknowledged the gap, submitting a bid to host the Africa Cup Women’s Sevens Regional Qualifier in Lagos/Ogun to restore Nigeria’s women to the continental rankings and provide a pathway back to the Africa Women’s Cup Sevens, but failed to follow it through.
Meanwhile, before now Nigeria women rugby sevens team had competed and came second behind Tunisia in a North & West African Women Sevens Rugby Tournament played at Legon, Ghana in 2009.
Until Nigeria re-enters that ranking pathway and competes season after season without interruption, it will remain conspicuously missing from tournaments of this stature, even as smaller nations like Mauritius, Rwanda and Burkina Faso take their place on the continental stage.
More Than A Trophy: The Road To The World Stage
World Rugby’s restructured SVNS Series now comprises three divisions — SVNS 1, SVNS 2 and SVNS 3. SVNS 3 is a standalone global tournament featuring eight teams qualified from across the continents.
South Africa, which already competes at a higher level of the international sevens structure, is not eligible for the SVNS 3 qualification place. The African representative will therefore be the highest-ranked team among the remaining participants.
The team that qualifies for SVNS 3 will have the opportunity to compete for promotion to SVNS 2, and subsequently to SVNS 1, providing a clear pathway from continental rugby to the top tier of world sevens.
Growing The Women’s Game
Rugby Africa states that the championship remains central to its strategy to grow women’s rugby across the continent, increase participation, and provide competitive opportunities for emerging unions.
Teams qualify for the championship through Rugby Africa membership, continental ranking from the previous edition, and regional representation, ensuring participation from North, East, West, Southern, and Island Africa.
How To Watch
Day 1 fixtures will be broadcast live on Rugby Africa Facebook and RugbyPass TV.
Photo: File shot from the Nigerian women’s league
