![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ASI_3025-e1769688858728-1024x364-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAsia Rugby has officially revealed its 2026 Emirates Competitions Calendar, a roadmap designed to accelerate the sport\u2019s growth across elite Fifteens, Sevens, and age-grade categories.<\/p>\n
The schedule features a record number of events staged across diverse subregional hosts, including Kazakhstan, China, Sri Lanka, India, and the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n
By decentralising tournament hosting, the organisation aims to reduce travel burdens while showcasing the game in emerging rugby hubs. The 2026 season is anchored by the \u201cEmirates\u201d title partnership, which continues to provide the commercial backbone for the region\u2019s elite competitions.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the announcement, Asia Rugby president, Qais Al Dhalai, said: \u201cThis calendar reflects the strength and ambition of our region.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are proud to deliver more competitions\u2026 ensuring every union has the chance to compete, grow, and showcase Asian rugby on the international stage,\u201d Al Dhalai said.<\/p>\n
Emphasising the operational efficiency of the new schedule, chairperson of the Competitions Committee, Asanga Seneviratne, added: \u201cThe 2026 schedule balances elite performance with development opportunities, ensuring every event adds real value to our teams and stakeholders.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Key Championship Fixtures and Strategic Shifts<\/p>\n
The 2026 season is divided into two distinct halves, transitioning from the endurance of Fifteens to the high-intensity Sevens circuit.<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s Championship (April\u2013May): Staged in Almaty, the flagship women\u2019s event features powerhouses Japan, Hong Kong China, and Kazakhstan.<\/p>\n
Men\u2019s Championship (May\u2013June): A four-nation round-robin involving the UAE, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong China, and Korea. Matches will be hosted in Dubai, Colombo, Hong Kong, and Incheon.<\/p>\n
New July Competition: A \u201clandmark\u201d new Emirates competition will debut in Sri Lanka from 1\u201310 July, with details regarding the format and participating unions expected in late February.<\/p>\n
Asian Games Integration: The Sevens season will pivot around the Aichi Nagoya Asian Games in Japan (1\u20133 October), serving as the year\u2019s pinnacle high-performance event.<\/p>\n
The organisation\u2019s strategy for 2026 also includes a heavy investment in youth, with Under-18, Under-19, and Under-20 championships scheduled for China, India, and Sri Lanka respectively.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t miss out on the latest in sports business \u2013 Subscribe today to the\u00a0free Ministry of Sport newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and stay ahead of the game. For even more exclusive insights, event tickets, professional development and networking events, become a\u00a0MoS Member today!<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Asia Rugby has officially revealed its 2026 Emirates Competitions Calendar, a roadmap designed to accelerate the sport\u2019s growth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":446906,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-446905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}