NAIROBI, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Kenya and Uganda will represent the continent at the 2019 Hong Kong Sevens tournament after finishing first and second respectively at the Africa Sevens Championships in Gaborone, Botswana.

The 2019 Hong Kong Sevens will act as a qualifier for the Women's World Series where the winner will secure core team status in the circuit.

Kenya says it will be stronger and more experienced next year having won the Africa championships in Botswana.

Coach Kevin Wambua, who guided his team to a sixth place finish in the qualifiers says they have attained one of their three targets this season by winning the Africa Sevens Championships.

"We had three main championships this season. We had high hopes to reach the finals in all the three, but we failed in [the] Commonwealth Games and the World Series qualifiers. But the team never gave up and has emerged top in Africa after over 10 years of trying," Wambua said.

With South Africa opting not to defend the Africa Sevens championships, Kenya was left as the giant in the competition.

Kenya now becomes the third team in the continent to lift the Africa Sevens Championships after South Africa and Tunisia. Now coach Wambua is hoping to take the team through reconditioning and more training ahead of next season's championships.

"China strung together six unbeaten games to win in Hong Kong. We are also aiming for similar results next year. In Botswana, our overall performance was superb. We went a step further from last year and picked up plenty of positives and experience which will be vital for us in future games," Wambua said.