Chairman Alexander Sasha Mutai of the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) has raised hopes of Kenya being the host of World Rugby Sevens series leg. This will however happen if the Kenya’s team will be able to succeed in the coming annual bout.
While speaking on Wednesday at the East African Breweries Limited (EABL) headquarters in Nairobi, he pointed out that the aim is to attract thousands of spectators and grow the tournament.
“We want to get the Safari 7s back and actually surpass the levels that we had in 2013/14. It was a big tournament… we could attract close to 48,000 spectators on a weekend. We are looking to get back to those levels and even surpass them. With that is when we can tell World Rugby that we want to host a Sevens Series here and in Africa,” Mutai said.
“First of all the 7s team has to qualify to get back into the World 7s series of which we are confident they will after their display at the Olympics qualifiers in Harare…as well as the Lionesses, we need to get them into the World 7s Series. It is a grand plan,” the chair added.
Sasha was quite sure in his statements that Kenya has enough capability to hold the global event since it has proved enough to do so. This is because the World Under 20 Rugby competitions and the Under 20 Barthes Cup which are big events were held here.
“We have hosted the World Under 20 Trophy successfully this year and World Rugby were very impressed despite the political issues that were in the country at that time. We also hosted the Barthes Cup earlier in the year so the capability of Kenya Rugby Union to host global events is well known and has exemplified by these two successful tournaments we have had this year,” he explained.
However, the success of the global match to be held here in Kenya does not only depend on the team’s win but also the improvement of infrastructure something that Sasha said he is into together with other private sectors.
“We are also looking to develop our stadia…probably…hopefully by 2026. So, that’s a longer term plan (hosting the World Rugby 7s Series). We want to build our own…privately…and we have been talking to investors and they’re quite interested in coming on board. We have had meetings with the government on the same because they have given us the land, so we are just formalizing the paperwork,” he said.
While at EABL headquarters, Sasha unveiled a new partnership between KRU and Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL) for this Saturday’s return leg of the Elgon Cup as well as the Safari Sevens. The partnership he said is for the glory and growth of Rugby in Kenya.
We are forever grateful for their continued support. The return of the Safari Sevens and the Victoria Cup represent a crucial step forward for rugby in Kenya. With the caliber of teams set to participate, we are all but assured of spectacular tournaments that will captivate the rugby fraternity,” he said
