Uganda to Host Crucial Asia/Africa Rugby World Cup Play-Off Match
Kampala, Uganda – 24 July, 2025 – Uganda has been selected to host the highly anticipated Asia/Africa play-off match for the 2027 Rugby World Cup. The match will pit Namibia against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on July 26 at the iconic Mandela National Stadium in Kampala.
Namibia, which lost to Zimbabwe in the African qualifiers, will have a second chance to keep their World Cup hopes alive in this decisive encounter against the UAE. The UAE team arrived in Uganda on Tuesday, eager to take on Namibia and secure a spot in the World Rugby Repechage Tournament.
Rugby Africa President Herbert Mensah expressed delight that Uganda will host the Asia/Africa play-off match. "We are happy the Asia/Africa play-off will also come to Uganda," he said. "It's a great opportunity for Uganda to host another major match. We thank the government and the Uganda Rugby Union for making this possible."
The winner of the match will advance to the World Rugby Repechage Tournament, scheduled for November 2025. The repechage will feature a four-team round-robin format, including:
- Asia/Africa Play-Off Winner: The winner of the Namibia-UAE match
- Europe's Fifth-Place Team: The team that finishes fifth in the European qualifiers
- South America's Third-Place Team: The team that finishes third in the South American qualifiers
- South America/Pacific Play-Off Loser: The loser of the play-off match between South America and Pacific teams.
Source: Lead News Online
