NAIROBI, May 20 -- Africa will host its inaugural qualifiers for the Women's Rugby World Cup with four countries who have vibrant leagues battling out for the single slot in the 15s version of the sport.

The Rugby Africa Women's Cup will be held in Johannesburg from Aug. 9-17 bringing together hosts South Africa, Kenya, Uganda and Madagascar.

Considering that there isn't yet an established African ranking for women's fifteen-a-side rugby, the four fifteens teams were chosen on the basis of the level and frequency of play of the female players.

Katie Sadleir, general manager for women's rugby at World Rugby, said the new event represents an opportunity not to be missed.

"The development of women in rugby is the greatest opportunity for our sport over the next decade. This is an essential part of world rugby's vision of a 'A sport for all, true to its values' and is aligned with its mission to grow the global family," said Sadleir on Monday.

"Women's rugby is experiencing uNPRecedented growth and participation levels are at an all-time high. Women's rugby in Africa is leading the way in terms of the number of women players registered worldwide," said Sadleir.

The four teams competing will see the winner secure a place to play in New Zealand in 2021. Each team will play three matches and a points classification will be established.

The winner of the tournament will qualify directly for the World Cup whilst the second best team will play a match against a selected team from South America and join the global repechage tournament if victorious.

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