Shujaa have been lined up to play three additional tournaments in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in July.
Already confirmed are two tournaments in France and Spain in February and according to team manager Eric Ogweno, World Rugby wants to give qualified teams to the Olympics more tournaments to fine-tune their preparations ahead of the global bonanza in the land of the rising sun.
Details of the three tournaments remain scanty but they could be played in Europe between April and June.
The tournaments will be a big boost for tournament-starved Shujaa especially with the World Sevens Series in Hong Kong and Singapore postponed to October. There are also doubts on the Vancouver (Canada) and Los Angeles (United States of America) legs, set for March, following an increase in the Covid-19 cases both nations.
Ogweno said the venues and time of the tournament will be disclosed in the coming weeks.
"The union is in communication with World Rugby on the tournament dates and travel especially with the restrictions placed by some countries on entry of foreign visitors,” noted Ogweno
Shujaa resumed training in mid-November following the Ministry of Sports directive that national team with international assignments return to action.
Innocent Simiyu's charges broke before the Christmas and New Year holidays and resumed training on Tuesday with an eye on the France and Spain tournaments.
The team is following all Covid-19 protocols in training with sessions running from Monday to Thursday.
Ogweno was upbeat about the team chances at the Olympics.
"It's wide open since teams have had very little game time due to the pandemic. Every nation has been affected and I guess it's a level playing field and it will boil down to who has had the best preparations,” added Ogweno.
The lone absentee from the team's training is Nondies' Oscar Dennis, who suffered a horrific right leg injury following a road accident in November and had to be airlifted to South Africa for specialised treatment.
Its is estimated that he will be out for a year and a half.
