- The SportPesa 7s 2025 gets underway in Mombasa with the Driftwood 7s.
- Kenya Harlequin go in as the reigning overall champions.
- SportPesa announced a 15 million title sponsorship package for the 2025 edition.
The SportPesa National 7s Circuit 2025 will get underway on Saturday, 26 July with the Driftwood 7s marking the first outing of the six-legged championship that will be held across five towns in three months.
In the tourney that will be taking place at the Mombasa Sports Club from 26-27 July, Kenya Harlequin will be looking to retain the title they won last year as they also begin their overall title defense.
Harlequin, who will be under the stewardship of Simon Odongo, head into the tourney as the team to beat having won the event a record 13 times. Mwamba come a distant second with 6 titles with KCB collecting three.
As the season gets underway, SportPesa Blog spoke to various coaches ahead of a gruelling campaign that promises the best of 7s action in Kenya.
SportPesa 7s 2025 coaches
Simon Odongo – Kenya Harlequin
We are very ready for Driftwood 7s. We have done most of our preparations and the good thing is that most of our players are intact from last season. We have only lost Leornard Fogang who needs to undergo shoulder surgery and David Williams who has gone back to Kisumu RFC
We have added Ramadan Masete from Homeboyz who gives us speed on the wing and Dennis Nyongesa is also back from his athletics trials in the 100 metres so that adds to our pace.
In the forwards, we have Moses Matonda from injury which is a good value addition.
Preparations
We used Ruff n Tuff as a build-up to see who was ready for the first two legs and we tried different combinations that really showed us a lot about the playing group. They saw the few areas we needed to work on and also areas of strength.
On expectations
One of our coaching philosophies has always been about giving gold medal performances every time on the field, be it in training, in the gym or even in life. We did that last season and we won the trophy, so that is what we expect to prove that we are worth it.
ALSO READ: 2025 SportPesa 7s returns as Driftwood 7s pools are announced
Dennis Mwanja – KCB
Preparations have been good though we did not get an exposure tourney. We played some friendlies with Catholic Monks, KCA and most of the top teams but not a major outing but we want to give a good account of ourselves in the tournament.
Marlin Mukolwe – Kabras Sugar RFC
We have had around 8 weeks of preparation. The last two weeks we had friendly matches with local teams which helped us. So far, we have been trying to adopt a new playing style and this will be a real test of that.
We will also be seeing the combinations we have with the different blend of players as we have new guys and some experienced ones but we want to start on our best foot forward.
We have Mike Lukusi who finished school last year and this will be his first tournament. We have Sam Omollo who is also new in the team but the rest are the old boys.
ALSO READ: 2025 Driftwood 7s Order of Play
Geoffrey Ominde – Menegai Oilers
“Our team preparation has been very intentional focusing on game-specifics for sevens. The boys are hungry, sharp and pushing each other daily.
Our immediate focus is on the first leg of the national sevens circuit this weekend. We want to hit the ground running and set the tone early. Our target is not just to compete but compete consistently throughout the season.
We’re giving younger players a platform while ensuring we manage work load across the squad,” Oilers posted.
Caleb Bosire – Daystar Falcons
The first tournament is very important as it sets the tone for the whole season. It will be good to go for maximum points with the new pooling system but everyone will be very rusty.
What I would like to see is my team taking their chances, defending well when we do not have the ball, communicating and then expressing themselves.
On having Kenya 7s star Patrick Odongo
Odongo being in the team has really boosted us. He came to us as a young boy but he has been able to work his way to the national team and it is good that he is getting that airtime. He is growing in his game but most importantly assisting the other boys.
The young players also have someone to look up to and he is really assisting with that. He also helps us defensively which makes his input being very crucial.
On Clinton Amukwachi
Clinton Amukwachi has also been playing exceptionally well and has been knocking on the door. He was in the national team training squad for the Africa 7s 2025 and one day I know he will make it.
Another exciting player is Arnold Agonda who played Safari 7s for Shujaa. He is an integral part and that exposure really helped him. I know they will keep pushing to represent the national team and we will be here to support them.
We have not had too many signings but we have a few individuals who will be playing the circuit for the first time. Our only new signing is Moses Keragori from Mwamba. We are trying to build because we believe in young players and we do not have longevity in our team.
An exciting player we have is Randy Otuoma who joined us from Upper Hill.
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Louis Kisia – Impala RFC
We are not at a very bad place and we hope to give a good account of ourselves taking note we have not played competitively in the 7s Circuit for two years.
We had a good outing at Ruff n Tuff and from the technical side, it was an eye opener to see who is ready and who is not.
We have 3 rookies representing the club straight from high school (Friends School Bwake) who won last year’s 7s championship. Amon Bwambok, Calistus Simiyu and speedster Jerome Mikisi.
Our target is to finish inside the top 12 to ensure we head into the next tournament on merit and not as an invited side.
We are calling ourselves PSG. This is because when they had stars like Neymar, Messia and Mbappe, they never won anything.
But the moment the stars left and they started playing as a team and executing the system and bonding, the results went in their favour. Our motivation this season is PSG and our first target is to ensure a top 12 finish.
Ben Nyambu – Nondies
Ruff n Tuff played a very crucial role in helping us go through our structures and what we have been working on. Our aim is not to make the same mistakes or to reduce it to a minimum and do whatever it will take to lift the trophy.
Oscar Ouma – Nakuru
The team is in a good place, we had a full preseason to get the boys in shape and ready for a grueling 7s circuit and I’m happy with what we achieved.
I’d say we ready for the tournament and we’ve chosen the best combinations for the weekend and the players are ready for it. I’m excited to see the boys play and enjoy themselves after putting in the hard work for the past months. We have a blend of experience and young players and they’ve bonded well together.
ALSO READ: Financial breakdown of the 15 million 2025 SportPesa 7s sponsorship package
2025 SportPesa National 7s Circuit Dates
26/27th July at the Driftwood 7s
2/3rd August – Prinsloo 7s
16/17th August – Christie 7s
23/24th August – Embu 7s
6/7th September – Kabeberi 7s
13/14th September – Dala 7s