Follow all the latest insight, analysis and reports from the 38th America’s Cup as teams fight it out to win the oldest International trophy in sport.

Nathan Outteridge (crouching) and Pete Burling celebrate after winning the America’s Cup in 2024 for Emirates Team New Zealand. Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images

Which teams are in the 38th America’s Cup?

In the last America’s Cup in late 2024, six teams raced for the America’s Cup: Emirates Team New Zealand; INEOS Britannia; Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli; American Magic; Alinghi Red Bull Racing; Orient Express Racing Team France.

As is often the case with the America’s Cup, the gap between editions has seen some uncertainty due to behind-the-scenes politicking. In part due to this and in part due to the usual churn of challengers between editions, there have been some changes for the 38th America’s Cup  – more than it may seem at first glance.

Emirates Team New Zealand – America’s Cup Defender

As the current holder of the America’s Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand will be racing again in the 38th America’s Cup. As the Defender, the Kiwis are guaranteed a spot in the America’s Cup regatta itself.

Emirates Team New Zealand represent the Royal Auckland Yacht Club in America’s Cup racing.

The new-look British America’s Cup Challengers, GB1

GB1 – America’s Cup Challenger of Record

The Challenger of Record is the name given to the first yacht club to challenge the holder of the America’s Cup once it has been won.

When Emirates Team New Zealand successfully completed their defence of the America’s Cup in 2024, the Royal Yacht Squadron immediately issued a challenge.

Then it was assumed the relationship between Sir Ben Ainslie and Sir Jim Ratcliffe would continue and the British team would once again be INEOS Britannia.

However, a very public and acrimonious split has seen INEOS step away from Cup racing, leaving Ainslie’s GB1 as the Challenger of Record.

However, Ainslie’s team negotiated the new America’s Cup Protocol with Team New Zealand, nominally designed to offer a more democratic event for all challengers. Thus the newly renamed GB1 (the Women’s and Youth teams are branded as Athena Racing) can be considered as just one of the challengers, with all challengers now having equal voting rights in decisions like America’s Cup venue and class of boats.

Italy – Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA)

Returning with the passionate backing of Italian sailing fans, Luna Rossa has double the motivation for AC38, given that the match will be played out in their home waters of Naples. They remain one of the most structurally stable and heavily resourced challengers in the village.

Photo: Ian Roman

Switzerland – Tudor Team Alinghi (SUI)

Competing in the last America’s Cup under Alinghi, Red Bull Racing, a change in headline sponsor sees this team arrive under the slightly updated Tudor Team Alinghi banner for this cycle. The Swiss syndicate enters their second consecutive modern-era Cup campaign. Having shaken off the “rookie” rust during the last cycle, they are now a fully matured, deeply integrated operations team.

France – La Roche-Posay Racing Team (FRA)

Previously competing under the Orient Express banner, the French challenge returns with a major new identity as the La Roche-Posay Racing Team. Historically operating on tighter budgets than their rivals, the French are renowned for punchy, highly efficient campaigns that extract maximum performance per dollar.

USA – American Racing Challenger Team USA (USA)

The Story So Far: For a while, it looked like the 38th America’s Cup would make history for the wrong reason—being the first ever without an American entry.

That changed in April 2026 when entrepreneurs Karel Komárek and Chris Welch launched this brand-new challenge under the banner of Sail Newport. Rather than starting from absolute scratch, they successfully acquired all the core assets of the former American Magic team.

Team Australia (AUS)

The Story So Far: In May 2026, the final late entry for AC38 was accepted, marking Australia’s emotional return to the America’s Cup for the first time in 26 years.

Representing the exclusive Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club (the same club that challenged in 1983 when Australia II broke the NYYC’s 132-year winning streak), the campaign is funded by the prominent Australian sailing family, the Winnings.

What boats are used in the America’s Cup?

The class of boat to be used in the 38th America’s Cup will, once again, be the AC75. These boats were first brought in ahead of the 36th America’s Cup so this would be their third outing.

The foiling monohulls were slightly different in 2024, with rules being tweaked partly aimed at improving light wind performance and also allowing the return of Cyclors.

And once again this cycle the rules have been adjusted in a number of ways. Principaly the aims have been threefold: Control costs; introduce new crew dynamics; impriove light wind performance.

Crew: Onboard crew numbers have been drastically cut from eight sailors down to just five.

Cyclors: Cyclors have been written out of the regulations. Instead of human pedal-power, the boats will rely on battery-powered stored energy systems to handle the hydraulic demands of flight control and sail trim.

More inclusive teams: For the first time in Cup history, the rules mandate that at least one female athlete must be included within the five-person racing crew.

Hull Recycling: Teams are banned from designing brand-new hulls from scratch for the 38th America’s Cup. Teams must reuse and modify their legacy hull platforms from the 36th and 37th America’s Cup boats, making foil optimisation, flight controls, and systems integration key. New teams will need to acquire an old hull.

Barcelona, was the venue for the 37th America’s Cup

Where is the next America’s Cup?

Traditionally the Defender of the America’s Cup holds the event on home waters. However, having done so in 2021, Team New Zealand could not agree a funding plan with the New Zealand government for 2024 and chose to hold the event in Barcelona for an undisclosed sum.

Once again the 38th America’s Cup will not be held on home waters, with the event moving to Naples, Italy.

Racing will take place on a close-to-shore course in the Gulf of Naples, set between Castel dell’Ovo and Posillipo, with the city’s former industrial district of Bagnoli undergoing an urban regeneration project to house the team bases.

When is the next America’s Cup?

The 38th America’s Cup will take place in the summer of 2027. The America’s Cup Match itself will officially begin with two opening races on July 10, 2027, and is scheduled to wrap up by the weekend of July 17–18, 2027.

The road to the match will see challenger selection racing throughout the spring of 2027 as the teams fight to be the single challenger competing in the America’as Cup itself against the Kiwis.

Long before the main match in 2027, the competitive action kicks off with a series of preliminary regattas sailed in the strict one-design AC40 class.

The first official Preliminary Regatta took place in Cagliari, Sardinia, from May 21–24, 2026

A second preliminary event was originally slated to follow immediately in Naples in late June 2026. However it has been postponed to a later date

Crucially, the 38th edition sees the return of the Youth and Women’s America’s Cup. The youth and female sailors are already heavily involved, with joint Women and Youth squads actively rostered and racing directly against the senior teams during the 2026 preliminary events.

But the formal, standalone Youth and Women’s America’s Cup regattas will taken place once again alongside the Challenger Selection Series in early 2027.

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