Plans to transform the Sevens World Series were
unveiled this week, with World Rugby EventsCo set to assume greater responsibility
for the delivery of events around the world.
The remodelled Sevens World Series will include
seven festival-style events, in seven destinations,
across seven months, featuring the best 12 men’s and 12 women’s
teams and is set to kick off in December 2023.
The changes are meant to attract a younger, more
diverse and global fanbase while generating greater revenues.
All seven rounds will feature combined men’s and women’s events,
with the men’s series being reduced from 16 to 12 teams to
align it with the Olympic competition model and match the number
of women’s teams.
An annual ‘Grand Finale’ event will take place in
the seventh round, which will see the top eight ranked teams after
six rounds compete to be crowned series champions, while the teams
ranked ninth to twelth will join the top four ranked teams from the
Challenger Series in a high stakes relegation play-off competition
which will see four teams secure their places in the next edition
of the series.
The four unsuccessful teams will go into regional
competitions to qualify for the next Challenger Series, which
comprises of 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams competing in the second
level of international rugby sevens.
In another development, men’s and
women’s teams will receive equal participation fees, with a 70% uplift in World Rugby’s investment in participation fees in
the new model.
Confirmed
hosts, competition dates and a new brand identity is expected to be
announced in the coming months, with the first edition of the
new-look
series to run from December 2023 through June 2024.
“The simple aim of the remodelled series is to grow the game by reaching more fans,
generating greater revenues to reinvest in performance, and
deliver bigger, better and more engaging and entertaining event
experiences for fans in the stadium, interacting online or
watching on broadcast around the world,” said Richard Heaselgrave, World
Rugby Chief Revenue and Fan Engagement Officer. “Fans will be at the heart of the action as the
series will chase the sun, mixing the best of sport and
entertainment to create unmissable live event experiences with a
festival atmosphere in seven iconic global destinations, which
will broaden rugby sevens’ appeal and attract new audiences. We will continue to build the
series into a
global sports and entertainment brand by widening our event
experience offering. The series has a great opportunity to develop
world class events that integrate top level sport, live music,
culinary experiences, retail, art, culture and mass participation,
providing fans with the flexibility to watch, play and engage
across a range of event experiences.”
The current HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series
continues with the next pair of rounds taking place in Dubai on
2-3 December, followed by Cape Town on 9-11 December.
