Why Kenya Sevens and Shujaa will not play in World Rugby Sevens Series

Kenyan fans across the world will not wear their favourite red, green and white jerseys to support Shujaa after a new format released by World Rugby locks out Kenya Sevens from playing in the traditional World Rugby Sevens Series.

In fact, not even Kenya Lionesses, the 2025 World Rugby Challenger Series champions, will feature in the core series after also being locked out by the global rugby governing body.

World Rugby today confirmed an evolved HSBC SVNS competition model designed to deliver long-term financial sustainability and grow the global reach of rugby sevens in the lead-up to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The new structure introduces a devolved, three-division hosting model that expands the series from 10 to 13 events in 2026.

HSBC SVNS Division 1 will see core team numbers reduce from 12 to eight per gender in a six-tournament series, with all events adopting a two-day format, enabling more agile, cost-effective delivery while elevating competitiveness, fan interest and broadcast value.

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The model responds to the shifting sports and media landscape, while preserving a clear, season-long pathway from regional qualification through to the SVNS World Championship Series, offering emerging nations the opportunity to rise to the top within a single year.

Key features of the new HSBC SVNS model will include a three-division regular season, namely Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3.

Division 1 will feature eight men’s and eight women’s teams competing in six high-impact SVNS Series events while in Division 2, six teams per gender compete in a second division across three events.

The Division 3 will be a standalone Challenger event with eight teams per gender, qualifying from regional competitions.

The Season finale to determine the world champion will involve three blockbuster SVNS World Championship Series events with the top 12 men’s and women’s teams (eight from Division 1, four from Division 2).

With that in mind, the eight teams competing in the HSBC SVNS World Championship this weekend in Los Angeles will form the HSBC SVNS Division 1 teams for the 2026 Series.

The teams that finish with final rankings of 9th-12th from the LA Playoff Tournament will qualify for SVNS 2 in the 2025/26 season.

Teams that finish with final rankings of 13th-16th will start their 2025/26 Sevens Season journey through their respective Sevens regional qualifier competitions.

This means Kenya Sevens and Kenya Lionesses will not feature as one of the core sides of the HSBC SVNS next season even if they win the playoffs.