South Africa will be represented in the prestigious America’s Cup for the first time when Team Shosholoza takes its place among the challengers in 2007.

The first syndicate from the African continent will join five other challengers in the field for the Louis Vuitton Cup in Valencia, to battle for the right to challenge Swiss team, Alinghi, for the ‘Auld Mug’.

The other teams named are Team New Zealand, BMW Oracle Racing from the United States, Italian entrants +39 Challenge and Luna Rossa Challange, and the French backed K-Challenge.

There was expected to be a team from the United Kingdom as well, however GBR Challenge missed Friday’s entry deadline because of a lack of funding.

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While the deadline has passed, there is a chance for the Brits to still join the field, with late entries accepted up until April 29 next year, along with a late fee.

There has already been some preliminary action in Spain, with the defender and challenger teams competing in three pre-Cup regattas this year, two of which were staged in Valencia.

It was a welcome return to competition for the Swiss defenders, who have been embroiled in controversy since the sacking of Kiwi skipper, Russell Coutts, back in July.

Dismissed for ‘repeated violations of his duties’, Coutts had called into question the management style of billionaire backer Ernesto Bertarelli and the pair clashed publicly when the skipper departed mid-year.

The team did not appear to be missing Coutts too much as it went on to win the final regatta in Valencia, however after winning the first series and placing in the other two, Team New Zealand was named ’season champion’.

Africans set for America’s Cup

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This entry was posted on Monday, December 20th, 2004 at 5:27 pm and is filed under Team Shosholoza. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.