Turin, 29 May (LaPresse) – "When Alinghi Red Bull Racing announced its withdrawal from the selection process for the 38th America's Cup last April, it did so because of well-founded concerns about the management and governance of the Cup by Defender Team New Zealand. While enthusiastically welcoming the choice of Naples as the perfect venue for the 2027 America's Cup, these concerns were further heightened yesterday when Team New Zealand celebrated the announcement of the host city during an event in the city. Team New Zealand has no right to do so without first agreeing a Protocol with Challenger of Record Athena Racing, which was not consulted on the choice of host venue, an element that has a critical impact on all challenging teams in terms of costs and logistics. This was announced in a statement by Alinghi, which emphasises that "by signing a commercial agreement with the host city that includes the Challenger Series races for the Louis Vuitton Cup, Team New Zealand has sold something to which it does not hold the rights. This is not acceptable. Furthermore, the lack of transparency regarding the terms of the venue agreement reached by Team New Zealand raises a fundamental question: how can a venue be approved without either the host city or any of the challenging teams knowing what the format of the race will be? This is just the latest demonstration of the Defender's failure to fulfil its fiduciary duties as Trustee of the America's Cup. Growing concerns about the governance of the America's Cup are the reason why the Société Nautique de Genève has now written to the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, raising questions about Team New Zealand's management of the event and seeking clarification on the duties and responsibilities of the RNZYS as Trustee."
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