Ultimate Sevens Confirms Teams and World Rugby Sanctioning

Ultimate Sevens was officially launched in May 2026 as a new international Rugby Sevens championship, and sanctioned by World Rugby before it launches in September 2026, featuring six clubs competing across four cities over four weeks in Europe.

The competition aims to bring the world’s best men’s and women’s players into one high-intensity format, launching in Europe in 2026. We reported on the Ultimate Sevens in 2025 and had heard at this year’s Hong Kong Sevens that more information would be released by the series, which is backed by BIA Sports Group.

The official launch was held at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium, and Managing Director Barney Pascall confirmed Ultimate Sevens is working collaboratively with World Rugby to optimise its launch in September 2026. The Grand Final will be taking place at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Barney Pascall, Managing Director of Ultimate Sevens, said: “World Rugby approval confirms that we are not just a challenger offering that the sport desperately needs, but a serious global championship here to capture the attention of new audiences and built with the sport’s long-term future in mind.

We’ve secured incredible host city locations, committed the sport’s top athletes, and signed Playmaker partners who genuinely understand what we’re building. Ultimate Sevens is about elevating rugby sevens as a sport to give its world class players a global stage to perform, as well as providing fans an experience that is fast, bold and culturally relevant.”

World Rugby also works closely with the RPL in India, which will see its second season kick off in June 2026.

A Ultimate Sevens press release added that “The championship’s official approval by World Rugby follows a collaborative engagement process and provides formal recognition of Ultimate Sevens’ competitive framework, player welfare standards and operational credibility, allowing contracted athletes to compete within the global rugby ecosystem.”

Barney Pascall, Managing Director of Ultimate Sevens (left) and Tom Mitchell, Sport & Innovation Director at Ultimate Sevens (Right)

Ultimate Sevens 2026 Format

There will be four European host cities in season one in 2026, culminating in the Grand Final at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium on 24 September 2026. The other venues are still to be announced, but Spain, Wales and France have been suggested in some reports.

The series will offer a “modern, fan-first presentation, blending sport, music and culture to create a premium live and broadcast product tailored for today’s global audiences.”

Confirmed Players – Ultimate Sevens 2026

Ultimate Sevens has also confirmed that more than half of the playing roster have already been contracted and that includes as many as 75 players on the HSBC SVNS circuit and an initial player salary budget of £2m.

So far, the following players have been announced:

• Abbie Brown (GB)
• Henry Hutchison (Australia)
• Lucas Lacamp (USA)
• Krissy Scurfield (Canada)
• Thalia Costa (Brazil)

Ultimate Sevens said it is committed to “recruiting the world’s best men’s and women’s players, reinforcing the sports gender parity, combining Olympians, established internationals and breakout stars from the HSBC SVNS World Series in a format built to elevate their skill, speed and athleticism.” We have been told that players from Asia are set to feature.

• Like the RPL, each club will feature marquee players.
• The remaining pool of players will be selected at the inaugural Ultimate Sevens Draft taking place in July 2026.
• The six clubs will also feature the Ultimate Rugby Sevens Academy graduates.
• There are plans to build new academies across the world in the coming years.

What Rule Changes Are There in Ultimate Sevens?

We have been vocal in our stance that Sevens Rugby works as it is and rule changes are not really necesary. Our main reason is that sevens is a great pathway and introductory sport in developing regions, and we are in danger of the HSBC SVNS, RPL, and Ultimate Sevens all having variants of rules.

We appreciate that there seems to be a perceived need to innovate, but do we need changes? When you generally ask players on the HSBS SVNS circuit, very few have issues with the current rules, which is quite different to the XVs game.

Nonetheless, the Ultimate Sevens founders will introduce variants and said, “All innovations promise to deliver a best-in-class player and fan experience both in the stadium and watching at home.” These include:

• 10-minute non-stop games
• Dynamic try conversions (earn extra points by kicking conversions from wider out)
• Tactical timeouts per team (each side can call for one timeout per game, as there is no traditional half-time break)

Former GB 7s Olympian, Tom Mitchell, who is Sport & Innovation Director at Ultimate Sevens, added: “From day one, we’ve designed Ultimate Sevens around the elements of the game which make sevens so compelling: speed, skill and constant jeopardy. Introducing new, unique innovations that make the experience better for fans and players alike, is what sets Ultimate Sevens apart.

We’re so excited to work with the world’s best athletes with the confidence that they can be part of this championship while also thriving in the wider Sevens ecosystem.”

Ultimate Sevens – Clubs

Six founding clubs or franchises will be playing in the Ultimate Sevens 2026, with the press release saying that each has “individual identities that represent key global rugby regions.”

The six identities are based on England, the Celtic nations, France, Oceania, North America and South America/Spain, as reported by The Guardian in the UK.

Each club will have a men’s and women’s team:

• Albion Athletic Sevens Club
• Atlantic Novas Sevens Club
• Foudre Bleue Sevens Club
• Pacific Current Sevens Club
• Clan Taran Sevens Club
• Sol Feroz Sevens Club

We will be honest, we are not big fans of the names, but let’s see what everyone else says.

Ultimate Sevens Partnership with Reebok

Just before the news of the team names and the first players to have signed on to Ultimate Sevens, they had also confirmed that Reebok will be the Official Kit Partner.

A press release confirmed that “Reebok will design and produce all on-field kits, training wear and fan merchandise for the new Rugby Sevens Championship.” Reebok will also operate the league’s official online store and manage physical retail on match days.

John Carden, CEO of Sports Hub Group, operating partner for Reebok Team Sports, said: “We’re thrilled to partner with Ultimate Sevens at such a pivotal moment. Ultimate Sevens represents the future of rugby – dynamic, inclusive, and built for a new generation of fans. We’re excited to bring our performance expertise and cultural influence to a championship that is redefining the sport on a global stage.”

Further announcements, including full calendar, tickets, players and broadcast details, will be revealed in due course.

Rugby Sevens News 2026

• Asian International Rugby Tournaments 2026.
• Gerry Prabhu On CASA, Rugby India’s Growth, and RPL Season 2.
• Emirates 7’s Asia Rugby Clubs Cup Launched – How Did it Come About and Will it Succeed?
• South African Men Secure First Ever Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong 7s Title.