Of the twenty-four teams in the 1997 Rugby World Cup Sevens, three were automatically qualified: 1993 champions England, runners-up Australia and hosts Hong Kong. The other twenty-one slots were contested by sixty-four national teams in three tournaments: Lisbon, Dubai and Punta del Este, with the quarterfinalists of the first two tournaments, then the semifinalists and Plate winner of the third advancing. Through qualifying through their tournaments, Cook Islands, Morocco, Portugal and Zimbabwe all made their first World Cup appearance.