The America’s Cup has suffered a major blow, after Alinghi Red Bull Racing announced it is terminating its America’s Cup campaign.

The decision comes just days after Ineos Britannia abandoned its challenge amid an increasingly acrimonious dispute with Athena Racing – the team of Ineos’ former skipper Sir Ben Ainslie.

The withdrawal of the Swiss challenger raises concerns about the future of the world’s oldest and most iconic sailing competition.

In an official statement released on Saturday (19 April 2025) to numerous outlets, including the New Zealand Herald, the team confirmed it has started an “orderly wind-down”.

“Despite all our efforts, we — Alinghi Red Bull Racing — have not been able to find agreement with the Defender of the America’s Cup for the future of the event,” the statement reads. “We would like to have seen more accountability, greater transparency and new opportunities to perform not only individually but as a group. That way we might all of us together could have delivered a commercially viable event capable of attracting global TV coverage, spectators, and sponsors.

“So, it is with great disappointment that we have begun an orderly wind-down of the Alinghi Red Bull Racing team.

“[Those] brands that have formed that team will always be part of the America’s Cup history and the last few years have been an incredible journey. We thank every team member, every sponsor and every supporter for their belief, trust, and commitment throughout.”

The team represented La Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), a yacht club based in Geneva. The club has confirmed the news.

Emirates Team New Zealand and America’s Cup event chief executive Grant Dalton told the Herald it was a “surprise”, and said that the Swiss team had been supportive in meetings to date.

“It is surprising to hear the news of Alinghi Red Bull Racing, although it has been somewhat obvious for some time that they have been struggling to recover from their lacklustre performance in Barcelona last October and give themselves an ‘on-water’ opportunity to win in AC38 [the 38th America’s Cup],” Dalton said.

“Since the conclusion of AC37, all the teams have been actively involved in trying to form an arrangement which would secure a more open and inclusive running of the America’s Cup and Alinghi Red Bull Racing have seemingly been very supportive of the initiative along with all participants.

“There have even been specific concessions in the draft Protocol at Alinghi’s request which have been accommodated, such as relaxing the nationality rule to allow two non-nationals to help them to bolster their sailing talent on board as well as establishing working groups made up of representatives of all teams to come together on racing formats and TV media broadcast initiatives.

“We feel sympathy today for the dedicated team members that have now lost their jobs as a result of this.”

Alinghi won the America’s Cup in 2003 and successfully defended it in 2007, but its involvement since has been intermittent and at times controversial, including a legal dispute over the legitimacy of the challenger of record. After returning to the competition in 2024, Alinghi progressed to the semifinals of the Louis Vuitton Cup despite being new to the AC75 class, before being eliminated by Ineos Britannia.

Alinghi’s decision not to mount another challenge marks the latest development in an already eventful campaign. In mid April, Team New Zealand announced it had parted ways with long-time helmsman Peter Burling.

The protocol for the next edition of the America’s Cup, due to take place in 2027, is still a work in progress, with dates and location still to be confirmed, and entries for challengers not officially open yet. Emirates Team New Zealand has confirmed that New Zealand will not host the defence of the 38th America’s Cup in 2027.

Dalton has been in Europe scoping out potential venues in recent weeks. European sailing journalist Fabio Pozzo, writing in the Italian newspaper La Stampa, reports that Athens and Naples are the most likely venues.

A venue is to due to be confirmed by June 20 this year, with the protocol to be released before then.