Kenya 7s national rugby side Shujaa has qualified for the Hong Kong Sevens scheduled for April 17-19, 2026, marking the start of the HSBC SVNS World Championship Series after finishing second at the just concluded first edition of HSBC SVNS 2 with 50 points, just two behind champions USA.
Their ladies counterparts, the Lionesses, missed out on the World SVNS Championship despite their impressive run in Sao Paulo, since they needed to beat Brazil and win that leg to qualify, missing out on the series where now Kenya Sevens are in Pool C, together with Australia, New Zealand, and USA for the Hong Kong tour.
Shujaa, USA, Germany, and Uruguay will now advance to the three-legged SVNS Championship, where they will face the top eight teams from the SVNS Series in Hong Kong from April 17-19, 2026, followed by events in Valladolid, Spain (May 29-31), and Bordeaux, France (June 5-7).
The series now marks the beginning of a three-location World Championship, featuring the top 12 men's and women's teams competing for the title, but for Kenya Lionesses, they will shift focus to the Africa Women’s 7s in November 2026, and must win it to secure a place in SVNS3, but also depending on South Africa women's performance in the championship.
While in the SVNS3 set for late 2026, their goal will be to finish in the top two and gain promotion back to SVNS2.
In 2027, the team must then finish within the top four to qualify for the SVNS World Championship and while at the world Championship level, a top eight finish is required for them ( Kenya Lionesses ) to remain in the top tier.
