Reviewed by Peris WambuKenya sports betting writer
Published 5 September 2026
World Rugby runs its sevens series on three tiers, and Shujaa are on the second one. Here is how the pyramid is built, how a team climbs it, and what Kenya have to do to get back to the top division.
World Rugby rebuilt the sevens calendar into three divisions from 2026, spread across thirteen tournaments. The top tier is SVNS, then SVNS 2, then SVNS 3. Every division has a way up and the top one has a way down.
The three tiers
SVNS carries eight men’s teams and eight women’s teams through six events, at Dubai, Cape Town, Singapore, Australia, Vancouver and New York. Those six rounds are followed by three World Championship tournaments, at Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux, where the season is decided.
SVNS 2 is six teams per gender, playing their own tournaments in February and March. SVNS 3 is eight per gender, reached through regional qualifying, and it plays a single Challenger event in January.
The connections between them are the point of the redesign. The SVNS 3 champions go up to SVNS 2. The top four men’s and women’s sides from SVNS 2 join the SVNS teams at the World Championship tournaments, and that is where the eight places in the top division for the following season are settled. A team can start in the third tier and reach the championship inside one season.
Why Shujaa are on the second tier
Kenya were placed in SVNS 2 when the new structure launched, because they finished outside the top eight in the 2025 season. They then did what the system is designed to allow: they came through SVNS 2 into the World Championship series.
It ended at Bordeaux. Shujaa lost their three pool matches, to Fiji, South Africa and Great Britain, lost the ninth place semi final to Germany and beat Uruguay in the eleventh place playoff, finishing the tournament eleventh. The last promotion place went to the United States, who beat Fiji in the fifth place playoff. Kenya stayed on the second tier.
The route back is the one they have already walked. Finish in the top four of SVNS 2, reach the World Championship tournaments, and take one of the eight places there.
Where to bet: Sevens is priced on the finals rather than the pool matches, so expect tournament outright and match winner rather than the handicap and total points menu you get on fifteens. SportPesa and Betika, both licensed in Kenya, where the Gambling Regulatory Authority took over from the Betting Control and Licensing Board in 2025, price rugby in KES and fund by M-Pesa. A tier below the top division carries thinner liquidity than the main series, so compare the two books before you stake. Our guide to the best betting sites in Kenya covers licensing and payout times, and there is more in Kenya rugby news from AXN Sports. 18+. Gamble responsibly.
