The national men’s and women’s sevens teams are among teams that have been invited to the Emirates Invitational 7s,a competitive training camp including two tournament weekends for a number of the best rugby sevens teams in the world from March 26th-April 11th in supporting the teams in their preparation for the Tokyo Olympics.
The Emirates Invitational 7s will see fourteen international rugby teams arrive in Dubai on March 26th, moving into bio-bubbles across the Emirate to participate in the Olympic preparation event with all training and competition at the home of the Emirates Dubai 7s, The Sevens Stadium.
Dubai is uniquely positioned both in geography and travel restrictions to host teams from all over the world in a safe and prepared environment. This will see teams enter into a strict bio-bubble with all logistics supported by the wider Emirates Group.
General Manager of The Sevens Stadium, Thomas Burwell, said of the event, “We are tremendously excited to be welcoming some of the best teams in the world back to Dubai. We set ourselves the challenge in the backend of 2020 to be part of the solution in getting rugby sevens back on the park. It’s a credit to the whole team that this Friday, we will be welcoming teams to DXB.”
The teams will train and play all rugby at The Sevens Stadium behind closed doors, with spectators not allowed in attendance. The tournaments will take place on April 2nd/3rd and April 8th/9th.
“Of course, we are sad not to be welcoming fans to either of the tournaments, but safety is paramount alongside allowing players to play competitive rugby. Many of the teams have not played since the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series paused following the series’ Vancouver leg in 2020.”
The tournaments are accredited by World Rugby, with international referees and officials flying into support as part of their own Olympic preparation.
“We want to thank local stakeholders for their ongoing support for sport in the region. The approval of the events from Dubai Sports Council, UAERF & Asia Rugby.”
The participating teams are
International Men’s Teams:
Japan,Canada,Kenya,Uganda,Spain,France,Argentina ,Chile
International Women’s Teams:
USA,Canada,Kenya,France,Brazil,Japan
