The road to Rio looked long and hazardous for the Kenyan women’s rugby sevens team. Having come second in the African Olympic qualifying tournament in September, the Lionesses were preparing for the 16-team global repechage tournament next June, from which only one team will qualify for the Rio 2016 Games.

But that all changed on Tuesday (15 December). With the news that South Africa would not be taking up the berth they won at continental qualifier, the door swung back open for Kenya, and World Rugby has confirmed their place at the Olympic Games.

“Kenya are at the forefront of women’s rugby in Africa and we look forward to seeing them representing their nation and the African region at the Rio 2016 Games”

Bernard Lapasset, World Rugby chairman

The Kenyan women’s team join their male counterparts in qualifying for Rio 2016 (Photo: World Rugby)

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South Africa beat Kenya in the final of the African qualifying tournament in Johannesburg, but the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) has confirmed it will not accept the place, in line with their Olympic qualification criteria. It follows a similar situation with the South African hockey teams in October, which SASCOC explained in this press release.

It means that Kenya will join the other 10 women’s teams already qualified for the 12-team tournament in Rio, as well as their nation’s male team, who won the men’s African qualifier. The Kenya Rugby Union confirmed they had accepted the place in the women’s tournament on Tuesday.

Rugby will return to the Olympic Games in Rio after 92 years, although its previous appearances were in the 15-player format. Lapasset said: “Excitement is building after a breath-taking start to the women’s and men’s World Rugby Sevens Series and all roads lead to Rio and a game-changing Games for rugby.”

The women’s tournament will take place at Deodoro Stadium in Deodoro Olympic Park on August 6-8, before the men take to sport’s biggest stage between August 9-11. South Africa will be represented in the men’s tournament, the Blitzboks having been among the first four teams to qualify for Rio 2016, via the world series last May. The 12th and final men’s team wil be decided at the men’s global repechage tournament, also next June.

Follow the race to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Rio2016.com is not an absolute authority on qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is an ongoing process. Final places will only be confirmed in July 2016 (for the Olympic Games) and August 2016 (for the Paralympic Games). The qualification systems are defined by each sport’s respective International Federation and the International Olympic Committee or International Paralympic Committee, and are subject to change. When an athlete or team wins a quota place for their nation, the final decision on whether this ‘slot’ is used and which athletes are sent is taken by the respective National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee (NOC or NPC). Even when athletes win a ‘nominal’ place for themselves, NOCs/NPCs may have to decide who to send if the number of qualified athletes from one country exceeds the quota.