The twenty-seventh edition of Africa’s premier sevens tournament, the Safari Sevens, is set for the 10th to 12th of October at the Nyayo National Stadium.
The tournament returns to the Nyayo Stadium since 2021 (first edition after Covid). Still, perhaps more memorably, since it was played there for the first time in 2011, when Samoa lifted the Robin Cahill by beating Samurai sevens 31-12 in the cup final, with Kenya finishing in 3rd. The Lionesses won the women’s category after edging out Uganda 7-5, in a four-team round robin format featuring only the two countries.
Fast forward fourteen years, and the tournament is back to a revamped Nyayo Stadium, itself having made a few strides since. Most notably, the growth in the women’s tournament which will this year host a highly competitive field of eight teams, featuring the likes of Belgium, last year’s winners Costa Blanca Barbarians (Spain), Uganda, and Shogun.
The 12-team men’s field is scattered with some exciting sides who are set to give Shujaa a proper run for their money, including Shogun, who played in last year’s final, Zimbabwe, the French renegades, and Uganda. Perhaps even more exciting is watching the young talents in the Morans and Cubs sides take it up a level against new opposition at this stage.
The Cubs side features nine Safari Sevens debutants, twelve in total if you add on the Lionesses, with the likes of Faith Achieng, Marvel Oswago, Angel Salamba, Ann Akinyi, and Maxine Abuga set to light it up at the Nyayo Stadium.
On the men’s side, the Morans will feature nine debutants, with the likes of Clinton Amukuachi, Daniel Kipchirchir, Rayvon Ambale, Elton Amalemba, and Victor Mola leading the pack. Looking further to our local interest, the current national sevens circuit Champions, KCB, will be making their third appearance at the Safari Sevens, and with most of their stars donning the red and green for the national teams, expect to see new faces coming to the fore.
Safari sevens action will kick off on the morning of Friday 10th October with age grade rugby at the Ngong racecourse, before moving to Nyayo where the main teams play a round of matches in the afternoon, making way for the now popular ‘Vets’ category, from 6 PM under the lights. Where the likes of KCB, Nondies, Mean Machine, and Strathmore expected to battle in out, kama kitambo!
Speaking on the tournament preparations, tournament director Kevin Wambura said;
“We are making final preparations around the stadium to ensure fans get a great experience, we have a dedicated Kiddie area to ensure that we provide a full family day out. Our tournament village is all set, with multiple vendors offering a wide range of food and drink, this space will then come alive after the games with our partners Tusker hosting after parties on both days.”
“On the pitch, we have decent fields across the men’s and women’s categories, with some potential mouth-watering clashes lined up on both days. We have pulled all stops to ensure that we stage a great tournament, and I want to call upon all fans to join us at the Nyayo National Stadium, for a great festival of sevens rugby!” He added.
It promises to be an exciting weekend of action on and off the pitch, with something for everyone. Tickets are available on tikohub.com
KWISHA… Nimeruka Nje!!!
