Source: Radio New Zealand
Team New Zealand in action off Barcelona, 2024. PHOTOSPORT
Which teams will challenge for 38th America’s Cup has become clearer six weeks out from the entry window for the 2027 event slamming shut.
On Monday it was revealed which teams make up the new America’s Cup Partnership (ACP), which in turn outlined the teams with a vested interest in the future of the world’s oldest sporting competition.
Team New Zealand, Great Britain’s Athena Racing, Italy’s Luna Rossa, Swiss entry Team Alinghi, and France’s K-Challenge have joined forces in the ACP which is an historic agreement which marks the first time in the event’s 174-year history that competing teams have united under a shared governance and commercial structure.
The announcement of which teams will form the ACP follows the Protocol agreement between defender Team New Zealand and challenger of record Athena Racing in August, which set the terms for the next America’s Cup in Naples and paved the way for ACP.
Since New Zealand defended the America’s Cup in Barcelona in October last year, there has been a lot of speculation about which teams would try and take the Auld Mug off them with Team New Zealand chief executive officer Grant Dalton believing that five was a good number of challengers.
The entry period for the 38th America’s Cup remains open until January 31, 2026 for teams to join ACP and the competition in Italy in 2027.
The five founding teams of the ACP will present further details of the partnership on 21 January in Naples with dates of the America’s Cup Match to be made public.
Dalton said the ACP was “preserving what makes the America’s Cup extraordinary while building a sustainable model that benefits everyone who shares our passion for this great competition”.
“We are securing the position of the America’s Cup at the pinnacle of innovation and professional sport for decades to come.”
Team principal of Athena Racing, Sir Ben Ainslie, said the ACP would ensure the America’s Cup remained “the ultimate proving ground for the world’s best sailors and technological advancements”.
“It allows us to continue pushing the boundaries of naval architecture and sailing technology, maintaining the Cup’s tradition as a catalyst for innovation, while providing the stability needed to grow our audience.”
Luna Rossa chief executive officer Max Sirena believed the ACP marked a “historic moment” for the competition.
“Luna Rossa has chosen to join a project aimed at ensuring stability, sustainability, and continuity for the America’s Cup, while respecting its values and its capacity for innovation. A responsible choice toward the sport, our fans, and future generations of Italian sailors,” Sirena said.
Team Alinghi owner Ernesto Bertarelli said the partnership was “a collective commitment to further elevating sailing on the global sporting stage”.
“By working together to create a more transparent and collaborative structure, we’re ensuring that this iconic competition will thrive for generations to come.”
K-Challenge co-chief executive officer Stephan Kandler said with France’s history in sailing and in the America’s Cup they wanted to be at the forefront of the ACP.
“It is a fantastic opportunity for the event and the teams to grow it at the same level as other leading sport properties.”
Key features of the ACP include:
- Biennial cycle: A commitment to a regular, fixed racing calendar of an America’s Cup every two years.
- Independent management: An independent management team focused solely on delivering sporting excellence and commercial opportunity for the America’s Cup, whilst ensuring consistent operations from one event to the next.
- Economic sustainability: Shared revenues and new cost control measures creating higher levels of competition and a more level playing field, while also ensuring the America’s Cup remains at the forefront of sailing innovation.
- Future focused: A continued commitment to the Women’s and Youth America’s Cup, creating accessible and diverse pathways into the sport – including at least one female onboard the AC75 race boat at the 38th America’s Cup.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
