BOULDER, Colo. – USA Rugby officially announced Wednesday a bid has been submitted to World Rugby to host Rugby World Cup Sevens, to be held in 2018.

USA Rugby, in conjunction with the San Francisco Giants, San Jose Earthquakes, and the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee, plans for the proposed three-day tournament to be held in the San Francisco area.

“Hosting a Rugby World Cup in the U.S.A. would be a huge boost to the development of the game of rugby in the U.S.A. and support the goals of World Rugby to make rugby a truly global game,” USA Rugby Chief Executive Officer Nigel Melville said. “We are committed to delivering an unforgettable sporting experience for the teams and fans.”

Northern California has been visited by international rugby more than any other region in the United States in the past 100 years. The most recent event to be held in the area, an international test between the U.S. and Canada in Sacramento in June, drew a sold-out crowd to newly-built Bonney Field.

The region is also home to a few of the country’s biggest clubs, successful colleges, and explosive growth in both the high school and youth communities.

The event is due to be played in the summer of 2018, and will include 24 men’s and 16 women’s international teams from across the globe.

“The Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee (BASOC) is delighted that USA Rugby has chosen to bid for this prestigious event and to host it in the Bay Area,” 1960 Olympian and BASOC Chief Executive Officer Anne Warner-Cribbs said. “We will be working with USA Rugby and the city of San Francisco to welcome the teams and their fans to California, one of America’s most successful sporting states.”

Argentina, Hong Kong (twice), Russia, Scotland, and United Arab Emirates have hosted Rugby World Cup Sevens in the past, with Fiji and New Zealand having captured two titles each. Last year in Moscow, both New Zealand’s men’s and women’s teams emerged from Luzhniki Stadium with gold, while the Women’s Eagles Sevens won bronze.

Rugby Sevens will make its Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro two years prior to Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018. The sport is also on the Games Program for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, with the International Olympic Committee to decide the sport’s future for later Games.

The host city of Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 will be announced by World Rugby in May 2015.