South Africa to host 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens

The coastal city was awarded the tournament at a time of rising fortunes for sevens rugby, which made its Olympic debut in 2016 and will return for the Tokyo Games next year.

REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: South Africa has been awarded the tournament at a time of rising fortunes for sevens rugby.

South Africa's Cape Town will host the next Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2022, World Rugby announced on Tuesday, marking the first time the event has been scheduled to be held in Africa.

The coastal city has been awarded the tournament at a time of rising fortunes for sevens rugby, which made its Olympic debut in 2016 and will return for the Tokyo Games next year.

The three-day event will be held at the 55,000-capacity Cape Town Stadium in September 2022, World Rugby said after a meeting of the World Rugby Council in Tokyo.

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Exact dates are still to be announced for the tournament, which will feature 24 men's and 16 women's teams, a statement said.

New Zealand sealed back-to-back titles and its third overall at the last sevens World Cup in Las Vegas in 2018 -- mirroring the performance of the 15-a-side All Blacks, which was crowned world champion in 1987, 2011 and 2015.