Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe will play in the African Tour 15s rugby championship alongside top European sides in November.
Kenya Rugby Union chairman Alexander Mutai said the only way the Simbas to improve their rankings and have a chance of qualification to the 2027 World Cup is to play against European sides.
“We recently had meetings in Mauritius with presidents of Zimbabwe and Uganda (federations) where we decided to start these tours to improve our chances of qualifying for the 2027 World Cup,” said Mutai.
Some of the European sides interested are Belgium — who are ranked 27th in the world, Germany ( 31st) and Hong Kong China ( 24th).
Mutai added: “We want to play against teams above us in the rankings to enable us to become competitive," noted Mutai.
He said it is cheaper to organise a tour as opposed to playing individual Test matches.
"Hosting a Test match would be costly if you factor in air tickets, accommodation logistics and local transport. But a joint Tour means the three countries will share the expenses," said Mutai.
The championship will be ideal preparation for the Africa Cup in 2025, a Rugby World Cup qualifier.
“We want to start our preparation for the qualifiers early. We believe this Tour will be good preparation," added Mutai.
Meanwhile, Mutai said they have petitioned the Ministry of Sport to pay pending allowances for the Simbas, Lionesses and other national squads.
"We have already handed the request to the Ministry of Sports. We hope the players will get their allowances in the next couple of weeks," said Mutai.
The Simbas depart for Uganda on Thursday ahead of the Africa Cup. They face Senegal on July 20.
The winners of the Kenya vs Senegal clash will advance to the semis, where they play the winner of the Algeria vs Cote d'Ivoire quarterfinal on July 24.
The Namibia-Burkina Faso match winner will meet the Zimbabwe vs Uganda quarterfinal winner.
