The tournament will be played alongside the men's HSBC Sevens World Series Round Two action in Dubai with the semi-finals and finals to be played on the main pitch at the Sevens Stadium.

The teams competing in Dubai will be reigning women's sevens world champions Australia, as well as South Africa, the United States, Canada, England, Brazil, China and Spain, while the cost of staging the tournament and supporting the teams is being managed through direct IRB funding and Emirates.

The move is part of the wider IRB Women's Strategic Plan to develop a new IRB International Women's Sevens Series, which is planned from 2012 onwards as a major milestone to the Rio 2016 Olympics - the first Games to include both men's and women's rugby sevens on the sports programme.

"Ever since the IOC made the historic decision to adopt Rugby Sevens into the Olympic Movement from 2016, the IRB has been working with its member unions towards the inception of a Women's International Series and this competition in Dubai is a first exciting step towards that," said IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset.

"Having hosted the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009 for both men and women, Dubai has already proven itself as an ideal venue to cater for both competitions.

"We look forward to working with the organisers to make the event in December a memorable one."

The development is also a timely boost for the world's best women's teams as they continue their preparations for 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow.

"It is a great honour to be hosting the first ever IRB Women's Sevens Challenge Cup in Dubai," said Richard Vaughan, Emirates' divisional senior vice President for commercial operations worldwide.

"The women's game has come a long way in recent times and while we have been staging women's matches at the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens for many years, this will be a massive step forward with eight international sides competing in an IRB-sanctioned event.

"I have no doubt this next step towards Rio 2016 will be a great success in popularising the women's game and the Dubai crowds have plenty to look forward to."

Tickets to the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens are due to go on sale on October 3.

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