Dubai: The Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens will kick off the 2015/16 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series on December 4-5, it was announced in Paris on Tuesday.
HSBC also announced a four-year extension of their sponsorship of the series, with the bank also assuming naming rights for the Women’s World Rugby Sevens Series.
As part of the deal, HSBC will also acquire individual event naming rights with the exception of Dubai and Hong Kong, which will continue to be sponsored by Emirates and Cathay Pacific, respectively.
Thanks to the sponsorship renewal, the format of the men’s series has been extended to ten stages next season, with Vancouver, Singapore and Paris added to the schedule. Dubai will kick off the campaign from December 4-5.
The Gold Coast in Australia, which usually hosts the series’ opener, has made way for Sydney, which will serve as round four. Round two will be held in Cape Town, South Africa instead of the usual Port Elizabeth. Vancouver, Canada has been added in as round six, and Tokyo has made way for Singapore in round nine, while Paris has replaced Glasgow as the penultimate round of the series, which ends with its traditional finale in London on May 21-22. Details of the women’s series have yet to be announced.
The new deal is significant given that it precedes rugby’s return to the Olympics in 2016 after a 92-year hiatus.
