Sardinia finally gets its America's Cup moment

After years of near-misses and political fumbles, Sardinia has finally locked in an America's Cup regatta. The opening preliminary event of the 38th America's Cup cycle will take place on the Italian island, marking the first proper on-water action on the road to Naples 2027.

The confirmation came via Facebook – of all places – from Franco Cuccureddu, Sardinia's Regional Councillor for Tourism, after months of confidential negotiations between Team New Zealand, the Italian Government, and various officials finally reached the finish line.

Cagliari is the expected host city, which makes sense. Luna Rossa already has a permanent base there, the infrastructure's solid, and the city knows how to run international sailing events. It's also a city that's watched this opportunity slip away before – twice, in fact.

Covid wiped out a planned World Series regatta in 2020. Then in 2023, political infighting saw another event collapse, with the preliminary regatta eventually shipped off to Jeddah instead. That relocation sparked plenty of frustration in Italy and left Sardinia empty-handed once again.

This time, though, the agreement is signed and public. Third time lucky, apparently.

Full details are due at a press conference in Cagliari this Friday. Official America’s Cup channels have stayed quiet so far, but next week’s press conference in Naples should clarify the roadmap for the entire cycle.

The Sardinia preliminary is expected to be followed by a second regatta in Naples, where the AC38 Match itself will take place in July 2027. Between them, these opening regattas will define the early pecking order, giving the first proper look at which teams are quick and which are scrambling. Racing for the first two preliminary events takes place in one-design AC40s, so no development advantages – it’ll all come down to boat speed and execution.

This is the point where AC38 begins to take shape. We’ll be in Naples for the 21 January press conference to bring you all the latest.