Organisers of the Emirates Dubai Sevens say they expect strong representation from abroad despite the Iran war.
Tickets went on sale last week for the annual festival of sport, which will take place at The Sevens Stadium from November 27 to 29.
It will again be the first leg of the HSBC SVNS World Series. Dubai has been one of the showpiece venues since World Rugby first formalised a global circuit for rugby’s abridged format in 1999.
Only once since the world series started has Dubai missed out on hosting a tournament. In 2001, some international sides opted out due to security concerns in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Even though that Dubai competition was officially downgraded by the sport’s governing body, many teams still travelled to the UAE, with New Zealand winning the Emirates International Trophy.
In the time since, the Dubai Sevens has grown into a multisport carnival, with more than 88,000 attending last year.
Despite the conflict in the region, the Dubai Sevens is set to expand again this year, with a sixth sport – Gaelic football – to be added to the programme.
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New Zealand men's and women's teams celebrate their double World Series victory at the Emirates Dubai Sevens 2025. All images: Chris Whiteoak / The National -
New Zealand players celebrate victory at The Sevens in Dubai -
New Zealand perform the haka after beating Australia -
New Zealand players celebrate after beating Australia -
New Zealand players after receiving their winner's medals at The Sevens -
New Zealand players celebrate following their win over Australia at the Dubai Sevens -
New Zealand players celebrate their win over Australia -
New Zealand's Tone Ng Shiu on the attack -
New Zealand's Akuila Rokolisoa misses the ball during the win over Australia -
Australia's William Cartwright scores a try -
New Zealand's Akuila Rokolisoa scores a try -
Australia's Bienne Terita in possession against New Zealand -
New Zealand's Jorja Miller scores a try -
New Zealand celebrate victory over Australia -
New Zealand's Jorja Miller celebrates scoring a try
Mathew Tait, the general manager and festival director, is confident participation at the event will be “the same as 2025, if not up”.
“It's still been pretty strong,” Tait said of registrations from overseas teams. “There's a number that we're in communications with where they're still holding off a little bit.
“If we look at the world series side of things, we are in regular communication with World Rugby on that, and everything is moving forward as is.
“On the invitational side, the team are in regular comms with all the international teams, across all of those sports, to reassure them of what the reality is on the ground.
“I think sometimes there's a difference between the reality on the ground and what's portrayed elsewhere. We're regularly in conversations, providing reassurances, answering questions that many people have.
“We are confident that we will be in the same space as we were last year. And obviously with GAA coming in this year as well, hopeful the overall footprint of those taking part in the participatory sports will be the same as 2025, if not up.”
While rugby has been the core of the Dubai Sevens since it started in 1970, thousands of amateur athletes from other sports also participate – including hundreds of touring sides.
In addition to rugby, netball, cricket, fitness and padel, there will be four tiers of Gaelic football competition for men, from elite to open levels, and the same for women.
To fit in with the theme of the weekend, it will be played in a specially adapted seven-a-side format, hosted on Pitch 5.
“It's something we've been considering for a little while,” Tait said.
“We review every year and consider adding new sports. We shouldn't ever do that just for the sake of it; if we're adding new sports, it needs to be positively impactful on the event.
“Ultimately, we want to be a world-class experience for all those athletes coming in across the sports that we do.”
Tait, who won the Dubai Sevens as a player with England at its former home in Al Awir in 2005, is hopeful the new Gaelic competition is “something that we can grow internationally moving forward”.
Aside from the sport, there will be new attractions for spectators this year, including a zip line, a Ferris wheel and “the UAE’s largest-ever inflatable kids’ zone”.
“There's so much going on in the city,” Tait said. “Yes, we're fortunate that the Sevens is a fixture in everyone's calendar at that time of year, but we'll never rest on our laurels with that.
“We need to continue to develop and evolve to make sure that it's interesting and exciting for returnees but also entices new people down to the event as well.”
