- The Africa Women’s 7s 2025 tournament is scheduled to kick off on Saturday, November 15, at the RFUEA Grounds.
- The 12-team competition, which serves as the qualifier for the World Rugby SVNS Division 3, will be hosted in Kenya for only the second time.
- The Kenya Lionesses have been placed in Pool B alongside Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.
The Africa Women’s 7s 2025 tournament is set to kick off on Saturday, November 15, and will run through to Sunday, November 16.
This 12-team competition, which serves as the qualifier for the World Rugby SVNS Division 3, is set to be hosted in Kenya for only the second time.
The women’s national team, the Kenya Lionesses, will be the hosts at Nairobi’s RFUEA Grounds along Ngong Road.
ALSO READ: Nairobi to host the 2025 edition of the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens
The Kenya Lionesses squad, under the guidance of Simon Odongo, will be aiming to reclaim the title they last won in 2018.
They will also be looking to improve on their 2023 and 2024 performances, where they reached the finals only to be defeated by the record champions South Africa.
The Kenya Lionesses have been drawn in Pool B where they will face 2024 hosts Ghana as well as Cote D’Ivoire.
Africa Women’s 7s 2025 preview
Apart from hosts Kenya, the other 11 teams will be vying for a coveted place in the remodelled HSBC SVNS Series — the elite global circuit overseen by World Rugby.
Kenya already secured their place in SVNS Division 2 for the 2026 season after a gutsy 17–14 victory over South Africa in the SVNS Play-Off final in Los Angeles in May 2025.
That result leaves a highly prized spot open this weekend: the top-performing team in Nairobi — excluding Kenya — will qualify for the single available place in the upcoming SVNS Division 3 season.
It means the other teams need to be the best outside Kenya to qualify.
ALSO READ: France-based Grace Okulu headlines Kenya Lionesses squad for 2025 Africa Women’s 7s tournament
Kenya Lionesses preview at Africa Women’s 7s 2025
Kenya will face Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire in Group B of the tournament.
Ghana is a familiar opponent for the Lionesses as the two sides clashed in last year’s group stage, where the then Dennis Mwanja-led side had to dig deep to secure a narrow 10-5 victory to proceed to the quarterfinals.
They also met in the 2023 group stage, with the Lionesses delivering a commanding 42-0 win.
Their rivalry extends back to 2022, where they met in the fifth-place semifinals (Kenya won 20-0), and to 2019, where the Lionesses secured a 36-0 victory.
This sets the stage for a compelling encounter as the two teams battle for supremacy.
The Lionesses are seeking to assert their dominance as the queens of African rugby, having already qualified for the global stage of World Rugby SVNS Division Two.
In contrast, Ghana has everything to fight for as they pursue a spot in the Challenger Series.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Lionesses and Cote d’Ivoire have no major competitive history, and both will be seeking to start a new rivalry.
This match will be Kenya’s first of the day on Saturday, as the two teams lock horns at 12:44. The Lionesses will then take on Ghana in a late-afternoon fixture at 4:00 PM EAT.
Elsewhere, South Africa will be pursuing their 12th title.
They head Pool A alongside Zimbabwe and Mauritius. Uganda headlines Pool C with Zambia and Burkina Faso, while Madagascar will take on Tunisia and Egypt in Pool D.
How to buy tickets and how to watch the Africa Women’s 7s Tournament
All matches will be available for streaming on Rugby Pass TV and Rugby Africa’s Facebook page.
To Buy Tickets: https://tikohub.com/events/356
Africa Women’s 7s 2025 Fixtures & Order of Play
Participating Teams
- Pool A: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mauritius
- Pool B: Kenya, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire
- Pool C: Uganda, Zambia, Burkina Faso
- Pool D: Madagascar, Tunisia, Egypt
Saturday
- 09:00 – Tunisia vs Egypt
- 09:22 – Zambia vs Burkina Faso
- 09:44 – Ghana vs Cote d’Ivoire
- 10:06 – Zimbabwe vs Mauritius
- 12:00 – Madagascar vs Egypt
- 12:22 – Uganda vs Burkina Faso
- 12:44 – Kenya vs Cote d’Ivoire
- 13:06 – South Africa vs Mauritius
- 15:00 – Madagascar vs Tunisia
- 15:22 – Uganda vs Zambia
- 15:44 – South Africa vs Zimbabwe
- 16:06 – Kenya vs Ghana
Sunday
- 09:00 – Cup QF1
- 09:22 – Cup QF2
- 09:44 – Cup QF3
- 10:06 – Cup QF4
- 10:28 – 9th Place SF1
- 10:50 – 9th Place SF2
- 11:30 – 5th Place SF1
- 11:52 – 5th Place SF2
- 12:14 – Cup SF1
- 12:36 – Cup SF2
- 12:58 – 11th Place Final
- 13:20 – 9th Place Final
- 15:00 – 7th Place Final
- 15:25 – 5th Place Final
- 15:54 – Bronze Medal Match
- 16:30 – Gold Medal Match
Africa Women’s 7s previous winners
South Africa – 11 (2006, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024)
Kenya – 1 (2018)
Tunisia – 1 (2012)