Rugby sevens in Southern and East Africa has continued to gain momentum over recent years and, with it, drawing in more spectators, many of whom are international tourists.
According to Rugby Africa (RA), more tournaments are being developed by unions, especially in Southern and East Africa in partnership with sponsors and broadcasters and, in turn, are contributing to the enhanced popularity of the game.
Glen Clement Sinkamba, Zambia Rugby Union president, said: “Our partnerships with other unions across Africa have started yielding results.”
Coralie van den Berg, RA general manager said the Cape Town Sevens, which is part of the World Series, sells out in a couple of hours, attracting huge crowds, with smaller events across Africa attracting various crowd sizes.
The size of the crowd depends on how well the event is promoted and commercialised, according to Van den Berg.
“Typically in Southern Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe have the biggest fan base for sevens.”
Further proof of this, was with the success of the recent Zambia International Sevens in September at the Polo Club in Lusaka, according to Sinkamba.
“The Safari Sevens tournament in Nairobi, Kenya, used to attract 20 000-plus spectators,” says Van den Berg: “Sevens is hugely popular in Kenya.”
In December, 2017, the City of Cape Town hosted the South African leg of the HSBC Rugby Sevens World Series, which fed millions of rands into Cape Town’s economy.
Rugby sevens is promoting intra-African travel, according to Van den Berg: “African neighbours are definitely travelling to Cape Town for the World Series tournament in December, which is combined with their summer/Christmas break. There is certainly potential with other African events too.”
The fast-paced, shorter version of the game is indeed not only a favourite among the crowds, but is also a good starting point towards drawing potential playing talent towards for the 15-man game to benefit from over time.
Kenya is an example of a forward-thinking rugby union that has realised that sevens tournaments are the breeding grounds to draw players to the sport, where they can showcase their talents, for possible greater opportunities in the sport of rugby.
African News Agency (ANA)