The 37th America's Cup could take place in Europe: Are New Zealand's America's Cup defenders going foreign?

New Zealand's America's Cup winners could be cheating: Emirates Team New Zealand is considering surrendering its home advantage and looking into a Cup defence in overseas waters. Previously, only the Swiss team Alinghi had taken this route in the 170-year history of the Cup. In 2007, the Swiss had to forego the home advantage stipulated in the foundation charter of 1852 because, as a nation surrounded by land, they did not have a suitable venue with access to the sea. The 32nd America's Cup took place in Valencia.

The Kiwis' willingness to defend the Cup away from their home turf, which has now become public, was preceded by three months of negotiations with their New Zealand government. The government had invested around 80 million euros in the 36th America's Cup, which the "Men in Black" were able to win. In addition, the city of Auckland had invested around 65 million euros in infrastructure. Politicians and business leaders said that the investment had paid off despite the pandemic and without many international visitors. For the defence of the 37th America's Cup, however, no agreement has yet been reached between politics and sport on the future financial commitment of government agencies.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told the daily newspaper "New Zealand Herald" in a telephone interview: "We want the America's Cup to be held here.(Ed.: in New Zealand) and have done our best. But there are limits to what we can do. We have to remember that it's taxpayers' money that has to be used for the benefit of New Zealanders. And there's a point where you can't justify how much goes in. We've tried to decide where that line is." New Zealand team boss Grant Dalton said: "If resources make an event in Auckland possible, we remain open to it. But we need to explore other options to form another successful defence." Aaron Young, Commodore of the defending club Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, went one step further and said: "It would be an unprecedented achievement to win the America's Cup three times in a row. Taking the Cup overseas could give us the best chance to do just that."

Rumours about the possible overseas venue for the 37th America's Cup have been circulating since 17 March: immediately after their triumphant victory, the Kiwis accepted an initial challenge from the British team led by four-time Olympic champion Sir Ben Ainslie. The British thus replaced the Italians as the so-called "Challenger of Record" and are currently the negotiating partner of the New Zealand defenders on the challenger side. The British racing team is backed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of the wealthiest Britons. The founder of the chemical company Ineos could even finance an exclusive Cup duel between New Zealand and England in British waters. The mother country of the America's Cup, where the first Cup regatta took place in 1851, has never been able to win the trophy.