NAIROBI, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Kenya 15s rugby side has been granted a bye to the group stage of their 2020 Rugby Africa Cup, which attracts the best 16 teams in the continent.
The continental body has revived the Rugby Africa Cup after it had lost its financier in 2018. Kenya launched their cup campaign on May 30 at home against Morocco.
The two are in Group B alongside the winner of Cote d'Ivoire/Rwanda match that will take place on November 23 in Abidjan.
"Rugby Africa has announced the new 2019-20 format that sees all the 16 teams competing for the overall Rugby Africa Cup title. The tournament will take place in three phases, the elimination round, group stage, and the finals," Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) said on Friday.
Eight teams will be involved in the preliminary stage with Cote d'Ivoire playing Rwanda, Ghana taking on Botswana, while Senegal will battle it out with Mauritius, with Madagascar hosting Nigeria.
Only the winners of these matches will proceed to the group stage. They will join Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, Zambia, Uganda, Algeria, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe.
Only South Africa, which is ranked as a tier-one nation, will be missing among the top African countries.
The group stage matches will kick off from May 30 to July 4. The 12 teams have been divided into four Groups. The final round will be held from July 29 to August 1 in a single venue that is yet to be confirmed. Enditem
