Global Tender Applications For Sevens
International Rugby Board Chairman Bernard Lapasset has hailed the global growth of rugby sevens after the International Federation confirmed it had received tender documents from 17 National Unions wishing to host a round of the IRB Sevens World Series from 2015/16.
A record number of tenders were submitted to the IRB headquarters from: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and USA.
Lapasset said: ‘We are delighted with the strong response from our Unions, cities and regional governments to the invitation to tender for the next cycle of our IRB Sevens World Series, beginning in 2015/16.’
‘We have received tenders from Unions representing every continent, which is a great reflection of the enormous strength and prestige of the Rugby Sevens brand as we build towards our Olympic Games return at Rio 2016.’
‘With its high-octane action on the field and festival atmosphere off it, Rugby Sevens is proving popular with cities and regional governments who see the great benefits of partnering with our Unions to tender for an event that brings significant benefit to the host destination.’
Last season’s 2013/14 HSBC Sevens World Series saw 569,262 fans attending the nine events around the world.
The campaign was also another record season for television broadcast, with 4,590 hours of coverage achieved across 145 countries.
Live, delayed live and highlights programming was aired in 12 languages across 34 channels, with an estimated 400 million homes and 900 million people reached.
For the first time, the IRB also streamed every minute of the action live on its website, allowing fans to follow the action either on TV or online in every country in the world.
