Super 7s is a modified, professional, city-based league for rugby sevens in the United States.

The league, which will feature competition for male and female professionals, will be led by former professional rugby player David Niu after he was named President.

Niu takes the position after serving as President of the China Arena Football League, where he was responsible for the building and development of professional American arena football in China, as part of an exclusive agreement with the country's Sports Ministry.

The league successfully launched in 2016 and will be returning for a second season later this year.

Niu made 88 appearances for the American rugby league team between 1994 and 2006.

He also featured on eight occasions for his country's rugby union side in 1999.

The 51-year-old founded the American National Rugby League, which featured competitions across the US from 1998 to 2010.

"As someone who has seen how a fast-paced and exciting sport can grow in a new marketplace, I am very enthused about the launch of Super 7s in North America," said Niu.

"It certainly fits the American psyche for fast, exciting, yet short content.

"The work that has been done by United World Sports to expand the footprint of rugby here in this country has been phenomenal, and we are ready to take a sport that will appeal to a wide audience with a very short learning curve to new levels of engagement."

Super 7s will launch with a six city "Pro Tour" across the US in July 2018, following the Rugby Sevens World Cup in San Francisco.

The dates and cities for the tour will be announced in the coming months.

Six professional men's and women’s teams will be created through "an extensive evaluation process over the next twelve months" and announced in an inaugural Super 7s League draft.

The six teams, made up largely of players from college and club programmes already in the US and Canada, will all travel, prepare and perform in a "touring roadshow style".

It is hoped the competition will evolve into "a full city by city league" in the spring and summer of 2019.

Super 7s will be an extended and slightly modified version of rugby sevens that will "transform the game from a 'tournament style' format" to a traditional city based league schedule that most American sports follow.

There will be other features to the game including “The Gauntlet”, a tie-breaking two-on-one skills competition to determine a winner in the event of a tie.

Team rosters will be comprised of 16 and possibly up to 21 players, with rolling substitutions.

Rugby sevens made its Olympic debut at Rio 2016 in August.