2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens

The bidding timeline for hosting the tournament was as follows:^[2]

1. February 28, 2014 —Interested countries declare their "intent to tender"
2. August 29, 2014 — World Rugby (then the IRB) distributes the tender documentation
3. December 5, 2014 — Countries submit their bids to World Rugby
4. May 13, 2015 — World Rugby Council chooses the host country

The following 14 countries declared their interest in bidding to host the event:^[3][4]

USA Rugby selected the San Francisco Bay Area as the host candidate. The venue was AT&T Park, home to the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball.

When the event was awarded to the Bay Area in May 2015, Avaya Stadium, home to the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer, was announced as a second venue.^[5][6] However, the following year, Avaya Stadium was dropped as a venue.^[7][8]

More information San Francisco ...

San Francisco	San Francisco Location of 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens
AT&T Park
Capacity: 42,000

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The three-day tournament was the most-watched live rugby cast in the U.S. on record.^[9] In the U.S. Day 2 coverage achieved a rating of 1.0, while Day 3 coverage attained a 1.1.^[10] Coverage reached nine million viewers across NBC five telecasts, with finals day coverage averaging 1.365 million viewers.^[9][11] Over 100,000 fans attended the three day event, which was a record-breaking crowd for a rugby event in the United States.^[12]

Over the three days of competition there was a total of 84 matches played across both the men's and women's competitions.

All times in Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−07:00).

Twenty four teams participate in the men's World Cup Sevens. Nine teams automatically qualify — eight by reaching the quarterfinals at the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens, and one host nation. Additionally, the top four teams not already qualified from the 2016–17 World Sevens Series also qualify. The remaining 11 teams qualify through continental qualifiers — two from each of the six regions, except North America which gets only one additional place.^[13]

More information Qualifying, Africa ...

Qualifying	Africa	North America	South America	Asia	Europe	Oceania
Automatic Qualifiers	Kenya  South Africa	United States (Hosts)	—	—	England  France  Wales	Australia  Fiji  New Zealand (Holders)
2016–17 World Series	—	Canada	Argentina	—	Scotland	Samoa
Continental Qualifiers	Uganda  Zimbabwe	Jamaica	Uruguay  Chile	Hong Kong  Japan	Ireland  Russia	Papua New Guinea  Tonga
Total Places (24)	4	3	3	2	6	6

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Sixteen teams play at the women's World Cup Sevens. Four teams automatically qualified by reaching the semifinals at the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens. Additionally, the top four teams not already qualified from the 2016–17 Women's World Sevens Series also qualified. The remaining eight places will be filled via continental qualifiers.^[13]

More information Africa, North America ...

	Africa	North America	South America	Asia	Europe	Oceania
Automatic Qualifiers	—	United States (Hosts)  Canada	—	—	Spain	New Zealand (Holders)
2016–17 World Series	—	—	—	—	France  Russia	Australia  Fiji
Continental Qualifiers	South Africa	Mexico	Brazil	China  Japan	England  Ireland	Papua New Guinea
Total Places (16)	1	3	1	2	5	4

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• Sports in the San Francisco Bay Area
• Rugby union in the United States