The 2018 Sevens World Cup will be held in the San Francisco Bay area.

With sevens set to make its Olympic debut at Rio 2016, the shorter version of the game's World Cup was moved back a year into the middle of the Olympic cycle to maximise the sport’s integration onto the Games programme. And World Rugby announced earlier on Wednesday a council awarded the hosting rights to the USA.

Both the Giants Stadium in San Francisco and the Avaya Stadium in San Jose, will host the 24 men's and 16 women's teams in their quest to be crowned champions, with the competition dates to be announced in due course.

USA Rugby CEO Nigel Melville said the hosting rights is an important step forward for rugby in the country.

'We will use the opportunity to develop Impact 2018, a national legacy programme for the whole USA Rugby community. We look forward to delivering a fantastic experience for the players, fans, sponsors and media.'

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