Uganda will host the Asia/Africa play-off match for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, with Namibia facing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on July 26 at Mandela National Stadium in Kampala.
Namibia, who lost to Zimbabwe in the African qualifiers, will have a second chance to keep their World Cup hopes alive in this decisive encounter against UAE.
“We are happy the Asia/Africa play-off will also come to Uganda,” said Rugby Africa president Herbert Mensah. “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 UAE team arrived in Uganda on Tuesday. A win over Namibia would send them to the World Rugby Repechage Tournament, scheduled for November 2025, keeping their path to the 2027 World Cup in Australia alive.
The repechage will be a four-team round-robin tournament featuring the Asia/Africa play-off winner, the fifth-place team from Europe, the third-place team from South America, and the loser of the South America/Pacific play-off.
Samuel Kwame Boadu is a Ghanaian media entrepreneur and storyteller with a passion for amplifying urban voices and uncovering everyday truths. He is the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of The Accra Daily Mail, a dynamic digital platform dedicated to capturing the pulse of Ghana’s capital—its people, culture, challenges, business, sports and innovations.
