America's Cup: Luna Rossa confirm Challenge made "last August" has been accepted

Luna Rossa leads the INEOS Britannia in the Louis Vuitton Cup Final - Race day 6 - October 2, 2024 - Barceloan © Ricardo Pinto / America's Cup

Leading America's Cup journalist, Fabio Pozzo, reports that the Italian team, Luna Rossa has had its Challenge accepted for the 2027 Cup in Naples.

Writing in La Stampa he reports a dinner conversation with Roberto Mottola di Amato, the President of Circolo della Vela e del Remo Italia, as saying: "Our entry was submitted in Auckland last August."

"Our challenge was accepted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron," he added. "For now, we are the first and only challengers, besides the Challenger of Record."

Luna Rossa's challenge submitted last month, presumably to hit the opening of the Entry Period on August 19, 2025.

"We sent all the original documents to Auckland, via Cagliari, as required by the rules and tradition of the Cup. I signed each document myself," Mottola explained.

The Italian's claim that they are the second Challenger puts the team next in line of succession, if the Challenger of Record, Royal Yacht Squadron does not proceed. The progression is automatic, under the new Protocol announced on August 12. Previously the Defender could select a new Challenger from all who had entered, that was one of the sticking points in the Protocol negotiations and a change was made ahead of the final edition.

"But others will join," Mottola said. "There's talk of Americans, perhaps Alinghi, the latter benefiting from the possibility of having two foreigners on board, as owner Ernesto Bertarelli wanted."

Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton was adamant at the media conferences called on August 12 at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, that a second Italian team will be challenging, bringing the Challenger numbers to four teams.

The practice for the announcement of entries for the 38th America's Cup, is that it is up to teams to announce they have entered. The America's Cup Defender will only confirm entry numbers at the end of the Entry Period. In the absence of the sign-off of the AC Partnership Agreement by the Challenger of Record and Defender the Entry Period is open-ended. It will close 28 days after the contentious ACP agreement is signed.

The deadline for getting ACP agreement signed off was earlier this week, on September 9. If the two teams have signed, then no announcement has been made. Or, the deadline has been extended under Mutual Consent provisions of the Protocol and the Deed of Gift, which governs the overall conduct of the America's Cup.