| Last Season: | 2023 Dubai Sevens |
| Pixels: | 180px |
| Sport: | Rugby sevens |
| Inaugural: | 1970 |
| Teams: | 16 |
The Dubai 7s is an annual rugby sevens and social event held at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai, UAE. Founded in 1970, the event is the longest running sports event in the Middle East.[1]
The Dubai 7s has six competitions each year:[2]
Dubai is the first leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series. Sixteen teams compete in the men's tournament divided into four pool of four teams each. On the first day, each team plays the other three teams in the pool. The two highest-placed teams in each pool advance to the quarterfinal knockout rounds, and the bottom two teams move to the challenge bracket.
Dubai also hosts a stop on the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series. Twelve teams compete in the women's tournament.
For the invitation tournaments, rugby teams take part in 15 sections.[3] The rugby invitational tournament is popular, with hundreds of teams participating.[4] The netball tournament includes teams in three sections: gulf women, open youth, and open women.
The Dubai Sevens is one of the more popular sporting events in Dubai, with over 100,000 fans attending the 2016 event.[4] [5]
The Dubai 7s has been held at The Sevens Stadium since 2008. Facilities at The Sevens include: eight rugby pitches, six cricket pitches, four netball/tennis courts, one basketball court, a grandstand, and ancillary facilities.[6]
The tournament's move to that venue in 2008 was a success. The tournament broke the World Series single-day attendance record in its first year with over 50,000 fans appearing on the first day of the tournament.[7]
Five teams have won the Dubai Sevens at least once. The early years of the tournament on the World Series were less competitive. Prior to 2003, New Zealand won the final with a comfortable 20+ point margin each year. In the first decade from 1999 to 2008 only five teams (New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, South Africa, and England) had reached the Dubai Sevens final. Since then, the tournament has been more competitive, with several additional teams making the final and semifinal stages.
Summary of Dubai Sevens results on the World Series (updated to 2022):
| Team | Champion | Runner-up | Semifinalist | Top 4 placing | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | 11 | 1 | 5 | 17 | ||
| align=left | 6 | 5 | 8 | 19 | ||
| align=left | 4 | 2 | 9 | 15 | ||
| align=left | 2 | 6 | 9 | 17 | ||
| align=left | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | ||
| align=left | – | 2 | 3 | 5 | ||
| align=left | – | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| align=left | – | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| align=left | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||
| align=left | – | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| align=left | – | – | 1 | 1 | ||
| align=left | – | – | 1 | 1 | ||
| align=left | Total | 23 | 23 | 46 | 92 |
| Year | Venue | Cup final | Placings | Refs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Score | Runner-up | Plate | Bowl | Shield | ||||
| 1999 | Dubai Exiles | 38–14 | [8] | ||||||
| 2000 | Dubai Exiles | 34–5 | [9] | ||||||
| 2001 | Dubai Exiles | 45–7 | |||||||
| 2002 | Dubai Exiles | 38–12 | [10] | ||||||
| 2003 | Dubai Exiles | 33–26 | [11] | ||||||
| 2004 | Dubai Exiles | 26–21 | [12] | ||||||
| 2005 | Dubai Exiles | 28–26 | [13] | ||||||
| 2006 | Dubai Exiles | 31–12 | [14] | ||||||
| 2007 | Dubai Exiles | 31–21 | [15] | ||||||
| 2008 | The Sevens | 19–12 | [16] | ||||||
| 2009 | The Sevens | 24–12 | [17] | ||||||
| 2010 | The Sevens | 29–21 | [18] | ||||||
| 2011 | The Sevens | 29–12 | [19] | ||||||
| 2012 | The Sevens | 26–15 | [20] | ||||||
| 2013 | The Sevens | 29–17 | [21] | ||||||
| 2014 | The Sevens | 33–7 | [22] | ||||||
| 2015 | The Sevens | 28–17 | [23] | ||||||
| Winner | Score | Runner-up | Third | Fourth | Fifth | ||||
| 2016 | The Sevens | 26–14 | [24] | ||||||
| 2017 | The Sevens | 24–12 | [25] | ||||||
| 2018 | The Sevens | 21–5 | [26] | ||||||
| 2019 | The Sevens | 15–0 | [27] | ||||||
| 2020 | The Sevens | Tournament cancelled due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. | [28] [29] | ||||||
| 2021 I | The Sevens | 42–7 | |||||||
| 2021 II | The Sevens | 10–7 | |||||||
| 2022 | The Sevens | 21–5 | |||||||
| 2023 | The Sevens | 12-7 | |||||||
Notes:
The event held on November 7–8, 2001, was downgraded in status and excluded from the Sevens World Series after several teams withdrew in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Winners of the Emirates International Trophy from 1988 to 1998:[30]