Japan Deaf Rugby Union To Host 2026 World Deaf Rugby Sevens Championship

rugbyasia247 Posted On December 25, 2024

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It has been confirmed that Japan will host the 2026 World Deaf Rugby Sevens Championship which will be the third such event to take place following the 2018 event in Australia and in Argentina in 2023.

This will be the first time that the tournament is held in the northern hemisphere and in Asia.

2026 World Deaf Rugby Sevens Championship

In a statement that has been shared by several national Deaf Rugby Unions, Michael Oosthuyzen, Chairman of the World Deaf Rugby (WDF) confirmed that the Japan Deaf Rugby Football Union (JDRFU) had been selected to host the 2026 World WDR Sevens Championship and that it would be staged in either October or November in either Saitama, Toyko or the Gifu Prefecture. Japan will confirm the exact venue by mid-2025.

World Deaf Rugby confirmed there will be a Women’s and Men’s competition and that the WDR and JDRFU will be working to jointly plan the event and they will make more announcements in the future.

The statement outlined that:

Team accommodation and meals will be provided by the host hotels
Hotels will be within walking distance of the playing venues
Hosts to organise transport to and from the airport for the teams
The total duration of the tournament will be 5-6 days

The JDRFU said via their website: “We would like to extend a warm welcome to the hearing-impaired rugby players and women who will be coming as national representative teams from all over the world, and we sincerely ask for your support, sponsorship and cooperation in making this Asia’s first world tournament a success. Let us step out together and create an unprecedented and wonderful ‘story’ for Japan and the world.”

At the Argentina-hosted World Deaf Rugby Sevens Championship 2023 there were 4 Women’s teams involved (including a Baabaas side), while the Men had 8 participating teams which also included a Barbarians side. Japan was the only nation to send a team (a men’s side). 10 players from Hong Kong Deaf Rugby played in the Barbarian sides.

The Japanese men finished 7th in 2023, the Barbarian men 8th, and the Barbarian women were 4th.