From Saturday through Sunday, the twelve best teams in the world will kick off the championship, with Dubai as the first stop in the world's most important rugby sevens competition.

Dubai will be the first of seven venues in the regular phase of the revamped HSBC SVNS, with a Grand Final, featuring promotion and relegation, leading up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. All captains gathered at the Sky Cantilever in One Za’abeel to add spectacle to this grand event. The Sevens Stadium will be the venue for the matches.

The Emirates Dubai 7s has been a cornerstone in the world rugby sevens calendar since its creation in 1999 and will feature an extensive program of music, entertainment, and mass participation sports activities along with the world-class tournament to entertain fans in a festival atmosphere.

HSBC SVNS action kicks off at 09:00 local time (GMT+4) on Saturday with men's and women's group stage matches. The second day begins at 09:30 on Sunday with the quarterfinals and culminates with the women's gold medal final at 19:13, followed by the men's final at 19:53 local time.

In the men's competition, New Zealand, the 2023 series champion with victories in Sydney, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Toulouse last season, leads Group A along with Canada, Samoa, last year's winner in Cape Town, and South Africa, the defending champion of the Emirates Dubai 7s, setting the stage for a rematch of the recent Rugby World Cup final in Paris in XVs.

Argentina, champion in Hamilton, Vancouver, and London, is in Group B and will face Spain, Australia, and Ireland, while Fiji, double winner of the Olympic gold medal, will face France, the United States, and Great Britain in Group C.

In the women's competition, New Zealand, who won six out of seven tournaments for their seventh series title, tops Group A alongside Fiji, Great Britain, and South Africa, the 2023 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series champion, joining the Series this season. Australia, the defending champion at the Emirates Dubai 7s, will face Brazil, Ireland, and Japan in Group B, while the United States, third in the past series, will face France, Spain, and their North American rivals, Canada, in Group C.

The competition format replicates the Olympic model where the top two teams from each group, plus the top two best third-placed teams, will advance to the quarterfinals, where the tournament will be decided.

The revamped global celebration of rugby sevens by World Rugby will take place in eight iconic destinations and is set to boost the global appeal of the sport.

Under a new name, HSBC SVNS 2024 features seven events in the regular season (in Dubai, Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, and Singapore) before the Grand Final to be played in Madrid. The top eight teams ranked by accumulated series points after the first seven events will compete in the Grand Final, where the winner takes all, and the men's and women's champions will be crowned.

Madrid will also host the high-stakes relegation playoff, where teams ranked ninth to twelfth will join the top four teams from the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger series; the top four teams will secure their place in HSBC SVNS 2025.

Fans can watch HSBC SVNS action worldwide, either through broadcast partners or online on RugbyPass TV. All matches played on the second field in Dubai will be streamed live on RugbyPass TV.

World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin said, "We are excited to start a new era for rugby sevens with the launch of HSBC SVNS in Dubai. The new identity for our Olympic format of the game, with iconic destinations and a new concept on and off the field, will further expand the reach and appeal of the sport beyond its traditional audiences."

Nigel Cass, World Rugby's Director of Competitions and Performance, said, "We look forward to starting in style at the Emirates Dubai 7s in what will be a great year for rugby sevens. With a new competition format, we know that the action at The Sevens Stadium will be thrilling from the opening match on Saturday morning to the final whistle on Sunday night when HSBC SVNS kicks off in style."