Namibia will get the 2022 Rugby Africa Cup going on Friday, July 1 in Marseille, France as eight sides battle for a place at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Namibia, who represented Africa alongside South Africa in 2019 in Japan, will play Burkina Faso on Friday at 1800 hours (Zimbabwean time) followed by the match pitting the Zimbabwe Sables against Ivory Coast at 2100 hours.
The quarterfinals will continue on Saturday with the East African derby between Kenya and Uganda getting the ball rolling at 1500 hours followed by Senegal vs Algeria at 18 00 hours.
The first semi-final has been scheduled for July 6 between the winner of the match between Uganda and Kenya and the winner of the other quarterfinal between Senegal and Algeria.
Either Namibia or Burkina Faso will take on the winner of the match between Zimbabwe and Ivory Coast in the second semi-final on Thursday, July 7.
The winner of the eight-team knockout competition will book a return to France 14 months later as Africa 1 at RWC 2023. The Africa 1 qualifier has been drawn in Pool A alongside New Zealand, hosts France, Italy and Uruguay.
Whoever finishes as runners-up following the much-anticipated Rugby Africa Cup 2022 final on 10 July will still have a chance of qualifying for RWC 2023 through the Final Qualification Tournament.
Zimbabwe are aiming to qualify for the first Rugby World Cup since 1991.
The broadcasters for the 2022 Rugby Africa Cup include  Canal+ (France, Africa), SuperSport (South Africa) and K24 (Kenya) while Rugby Africa will be live streaming the matches on their Facebook and YouTube platforms.
Rugby Africa 2022 Schedule
- Namibia v Burkina Faso 6pm, Friday July 1, 2022
Stade Pierre-Delort, Marseille, France
Friday, 1 July, 2022
Referee: Sylvain Mane (SEN)
Assistant Referee 1: Precious Pazani (ZIM)
Assistant Referee 2: Talent Gandiwa (ZIM)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (FFR)
- Zimbabwe v Ivory Coast 9pm, Friday July 1, 2022
Stade Pierre-Delort, Marseille, France
Friday, 1 July, 2022
Referee: Vivien Praderie (FFR)
Assistant Referee 1: Aymen Jriji (TUN)
Assistant Referee 2: Victor Ojuku (KEN)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (FFR)
3.Senegal v Algeria 6pm, Saturday July 2, 2022
Stade Maurice-David, Aix-en-Provence, France
Saturday, 2 July, 2022
Referee: Ludovic Cayre (FFR)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicardo Pienaar (NAM)
Assistant Referee 2: Victor Ojuku (KEN)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (FFR)
- Uganda v Kenya 9pm, Saturday July 2, 2022
Stade Maurice-David, Aix-en-Provence, France
Saturday, 2 July, 2022
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Sylvain Mane (SEN)
Assistant Referee 2: Aymen Jriji (TUN)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (FFR)
