The build-up to the 38th America’s Cup took a turbulent turn yesterday, as two challenger teams pushed back against the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, over last week’s announcement of Naples as the next Cup venue.
Yesterday afternoon British Challenger of Record Athena Racing – led by Sir Ben Ainslie and representing the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd. – issued a sharp statement questioning the process behind the venue selection. Citing a “concerning lack of transparency,” Athena argues that confirmation of Naples as host city is “premature, at best,” given the absence of an agreed protocol or clear competition framework for the event which is scheduled to take place in 2027.
“We believe that transparency and cooperation between the Defender and all challengers is vital for the Cup’s future,” the Athena statement said. “Therefore the recent announcements from the Defender are premature. Significant barriers remain to agreeing a fair sporting protocol.”
That sentiment was quickly echoed by the US challenger, NYYC American Magic, who made clear that their own participation in the 38th edition of the Cup is contingent on the establishment of a “fair and balanced protocol.” In their own statement, the team said: “We find ourselves at a crossroads... Without the structural framework necessary for challengers to pursue viable campaigns, it will remain extremely difficult to unlock the America’s Cup’s potential as a modern, globally relevant sports property.”
The root of the dispute lies not in the choice of Naples – a location broadly acknowledged as a stunning sailing arena with deep maritime heritage – but in the sequencing of the announcements from Emirates Team New Zealand. According to the Athena statement, traditionally, the America’s Cup protocol is agreed upon first, with the venue selection and event details following thereafter. The idea being that the participating teams understand the competitive and commercial parameters before making major financial and organisational commitments. That said, there is precedent for the venue to be announced first – as was the case with San Francisco in 2013, and each time the AC has been held in Auckland.
In this case, Emirates Team New Zealand announced Naples as host, promising that further planning details would be released “in due course.” That timeline, however, is not sitting well with the British and American teams.
“For seven months Athena Racing has been in negotiations on a protocol with Team New Zealand, on behalf of all the challengers,” their statement read. “Despite recent progress, significant barriers remain.”
Among the outstanding questions: the dates of the event, the base locations within Naples, the financial commitments required of teams, and other legal liabilities associated with the host city agreement. Without this key information, the challenger teams feel they have been left treading water while the Kiwis surge on.
Athena Racing emphasised that committing to a host city without this information risks saddling challengers with unforeseen financial obligations. “Any hosting agreement will bind challengers to financial and organisational obligations... making its disclosure fundamental to teams’ participation and commitment to the 38th America’s Cup.”
While only Athena Racing and American Magic have spoken publicly, it is understood that other potential challengers share similar concerns. The fear is that, without a clearly defined and mutually agreed protocol, the 38th America’s Cup risks losing momentum—and credibility.
In its statement, American Magic underscored that point: “We urge the Defender, as trustee, to work in good faith with the Challenger of Record to restore the elements of fair competition, transparency, and respect for all sailors, globally.”
Both statements are reminiscent of the one issued by AC37-challenger Alinghi Red Bull Racing in April of this year, when the Swiss team cited its inability “to find agreement with the Defender of the America’s Cup for the future of the event” as the reason it would be withdrawing from challenge process for AC38.
“We would like to have seen more accountability, greater transparency, and new opportunities to perform—not only individually but as a group,” the statement also read. “That way, we might all have delivered a commercially viable event capable of attracting global TV coverage, spectators, and sponsors.”
Unsubstantiated rumours have been circulating that Alinghi may not, in fact, have pulled out of the next America’s Cup, and that a deal may be brewing between the team’s owner Ernesto Bertarelli and Athena Racing. Ainslie, Bertarelli, and American Magic founder Doug DeVos are all believed to have met in New York to discuss the 38th America’s Cup.
The Athena statement mentions ‘significant barriers’ to progress in the negotiations between the Defender and Challenger of Record. A key one of these is understood to be the ‘no poaching’ rule that prevents any sailor who raced in AC37 from being recruited to another team. A prime example is ex-Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Peter Burling who left the team earlier this year but is ruled out of sailing for another team in AC38.
Hours after the British and Americans issued their statement, the New Zealanders responded with one of their own refuting the challengers’ claims and providing a link to the latest draft of the AC38 Protocol. The statement also maintains that all the teams were offered access under non-disclosure to the Host Venue Agreement with Naples which was signed last week. According to the statement, the British team did not take advantage of this offer.
There has been no response since from Athena Racing nor from NYYC American Magic. However their underlying message is clear: the America’s Cup is a sporting trust, not a private regatta. And while the Defender holds the rights to manage the event, it also bears the responsibility of doing so in a way that preserves the integrity and long-term health of the competition.
Meanwhile, the French challenger Orient Express Racing Team and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli from Italy have chosen not to issue any statement on the matter.
What happens next is hard to guess. In their statement, the Americans gave a strong indication that they may pull out of AC38 if their demands are not met.
“We continue to support the Challenger of Record in their efforts to secure an open and balanced Protocol, as without the meaningful changes they are advocating, it is difficult to see how NYYC American Magic can participate in the 38th America's Cup.”
Whether the British would follow suit remains unclear. As does the question of who will make the next move in this complicated and fragile scenario. Fingers crossed for a quick resolution to it all.
