![Zaza](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Zaza.jpeg)
The Dubai Sevens is an annual
rugby sevens and social event held at
The Sevens Stadium
The Sevens is a purpose-built rugby sevens stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Sevens Stadium is a venue for rugby, association football, Gaelic football, Australian football (Aussie rules football), netball, basketball, cricket, tennis, ...
in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
,
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
. Founded in 1970, the event is the longest running sports event in the Middle East.
Events
The Dubai Sevens has four competitions each year:
*
World Rugby Sevens Series
The World Rugby Men's Sevens Series is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World Sevens Series, the com ...
*
World Rugby Women's Sevens Series
The World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, is a series of international rugby sevens tournaments for women's national teams run by World Rugby. The inaugural series was held in 2012–13 as the successor to the IRB Women's Sevens Challenge Cup held ...
* Rugby Invitation Tournament
* Netball Invitation Tournament
Dubai is the first leg of the
World Rugby Sevens Series
The World Rugby Men's Sevens Series is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World Sevens Series, the com ...
. Sixteen teams compete in the men's tournament divided into four pool of four teams. On the first day, each team plays the other three teams in the pool. The two highest teams in each pool advance to the quarterfinal knockout rounds, and the bottom two teams move to the challenge bracket.
Dubai also hosts a stop on the
World Rugby Women's Sevens Series
The World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, is a series of international rugby sevens tournaments for women's national teams run by World Rugby. The inaugural series was held in 2012–13 as the successor to the IRB Women's Sevens Challenge Cup held ...
. Twelve teams compete in the women's tournament.
For the invitation tournaments, rugby teams take part in 15 sections. The rugby invitational tournament is popular, with hundreds of teams participating.
["The Dubai Rugby Sevens Broke Attendance Records"](_blank)
Dubai Rugby 7s, 5 December 2016. The netball tournament includes teams in three sections: gulf women, open youth, and open women.
The Dubai Sevens is one of the more popular sporting events in Dubai, with over 100,000 fans attending the 2016 event.
Venue
The Dubai Sevens has been held at
The Sevens Stadium
The Sevens is a purpose-built rugby sevens stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Sevens Stadium is a venue for rugby, association football, Gaelic football, Australian football (Aussie rules football), netball, basketball, cricket, tennis, ...
since 2008. Facilities at The Sevens include: eight rugby pitches, six cricket pitches, four netball/tennis courts, one basketball court, a grandstand, and ancillary facilities.
The tournament's move to that venue in 2008 was a success. The tournament broke the World Series single-day attendance record in its first year with over 50,000 fans appearing on the first day of the tournament.
World Series results
Summary of results
Five teams have won the Dubai Sevens at least once. The early years of the tournament on the World Series were less competitive. Prior to 2003, New Zealand won the final with a comfortable 20+ point margin each year. In the first decade from 1999 to 2008 only five teams (New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, South Africa, and England) had reached the Dubai Sevens final. Since then, the tournament has been more competitive, with several additional teams making the final and semifinal stages.
Summary of Dubai Sevens results on the World Series (updated to 2022):
Results by year
Notes:
The event held on November 7–8, 2001, was downgraded in status and excluded from the Sevens World Series after several teams withdrew in the wake of the
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
.
[
]
Earlier winners
Winners of the Emirates International Trophy from 1988 to 1998:
*1988
London Scottish
*1989
Crawshays
*1990
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
*1991
Queensland
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, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
*1992
*1993 White Hart Marauders
*1994
*1995 Kiwi Nomads
*1996
*1997 New Zealand Invitation
*1998
See also
*
Dubai Women's Sevens
The Dubai Women's Sevens is an annual rugby sevens tournament held in Dubai, UAE. The tournament includes several competitions including, since 1994, an international women's invitational competition. Though most entrants are ad hoc sides compos ...
References
External links
Official website*
{{Dubai Sevens
World Rugby Sevens Series tournaments
The Emirates Group
International rugby union competitions hosted by the United Arab Emirates
Rugby sevens competitions in Asia
Rugby union in Dubai
Recurring sporting events established in 1988
1988 establishments in the United Arab Emirates