The road to Olympic medals is taking shape in Senegal, with the pools confirmed for the men’s and women’s rugby sevens competitions at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

A total of 16 teams eight in each competition will compete across two pools of four when rugby sevens returns to the Youth Olympic Games for the third time.

In the women’s tournament, Australia, China, Kenya and hosts Senegal have been drawn together in Pool A. Pool B will feature Czechia, Madagascar, Spain and the USA.

The men’s competition will see Canada, Germany, Senegal and South Africa battle in Pool A, while Argentina, France, Japan and Samoa will make up Pool B.

The rugby sevens action begins on 1 November at the 8,000-capacity Complexe Iba Mar Diop, one day after the Dakar 2026 Opening Ceremony on 31 October. The medal matches are scheduled for 2 and 3 November.

Dakar 2026 is set to be a landmark event, becoming the first Olympic sporting event hosted on the African continent. Around 2,700 young athletes are expected to compete across 25 sports.

For rugby sevens, the Youth Olympic journey began at Nanjing 2014 before the sport returned at Buenos Aires 2018.

Argentina won the men’s gold on home soil in Buenos Aires, defeating France, while New Zealand secured the women’s title after also overcoming France. Japan and Canada claimed the respective men’s and women’s bronze medals.

With the pools now set, attention turns to Senegal, where a new generation of players will compete for Youth Olympic honours and the chance to make their mark on the international stage.