2008–09 IRB Sevens World Series normal 16 teams) was spread out over a three-day period. The series' tournaments are identical to 2007–2008 and span the globe: The 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens was not a part of the 2008-09 series. Unlike the 2005 edition held in Hong Kong, the 2009 edition did not replace one of the 2008-09 series events. The World Cup was held in Dubai from March 5–7, 2009 and won by Wales. Prior to the season, the IRB announced the 12 "core teams" that would receive guaranteed berths in each event in the 2008–09 series: The one new core team was the
2009 Algarve Cup 2009 Algarve Cup The 2009 Algarve Cup was the sixteenth edition of the Algarve Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Portugal. It took place between 4 and 11 March 2009. It was won by Sweden who defeated holders the United States in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in the final-game. The twelve invited teams were split into three groups that played a round-robin tournament. The entrants were almost identical to the previous year, but Iceland moved up into Group B from their previous ranking in 2008, replacing Italy who did not feature this time. Wales