⛵ America’s Cup in Naples already delivers: sailing participation rises among young people

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# ⛵ America’s Cup in Naples already delivers: sailing participation rises among young people

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The **America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta in Naples** produced more than spectacular racing and huge crowds along the city’s waterfront. Early figures suggest that the event is already generating a wider sporting legacy, with **more young people in Campania showing an interest in sailing**.

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Mario Pozzi, head of the Technical Secretariat at Italy’s Ministry for Sport and Youth, highlighted the results during the **66th Genoa International Boat Show**.

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According to figures cited by Pozzi, during the week of the Naples Preliminary Regatta the Italian Sailing Federation recorded a **17% increase in registered members in Campania**.

🌊 Young people discover sailing

The age profile of the new members makes the figure particularly significant.

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According to Pozzi, **most of the new registrations involve children under the age of 14**, suggesting that the America’s Cup has already succeeded in attracting a new generation towards sailing.

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This is one of the wider objectives behind public investment in major international sporting events: not simply attracting visitors and generating economic activity, but encouraging more people to participate directly in sport.

🏆 Naples 2027 is about more than racing

Hosting the **38th America’s Cup in Naples** is therefore being viewed as a project whose impact could extend well beyond the racecourse.

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The expected economic benefits played an important role in the decision to pursue the event, but another objective is to use the global visibility of the America’s Cup to strengthen sailing participation and sporting culture.

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Pozzi placed the strategy within Italy’s broader approach to major sporting events, citing competitions such as the Ryder Cup, the Winter Olympics and the Mediterranean Games.

🏗️ Bagnoli and the long-term legacy

**Bagnoli** will be central to the 2027 event and to the legacy Naples hopes the America’s Cup will leave behind.

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The transformation of the area is intended to have a value extending beyond the weeks of competition, creating infrastructure and opportunities capable of continuing to benefit the city after the Cup has ended.

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From this perspective, the America’s Cup becomes not only an international sailing competition but also a potential catalyst for urban regeneration, investment and a stronger relationship between Naples and the sea.

🇮🇹 Major sporting events as engines of growth

Italy's strategy is based on the idea that major sporting events can produce benefits across several areas simultaneously, from economic activity and tourism to social development and participation in sport.

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Naples is already providing an interesting example.

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A **17% increase in sailing registrations in Campania during the Preliminary Regatta week**, particularly among younger participants, is an early indication of the potential long-term impact of the event.

⛵ The journey to 2027 has already begun

The Preliminary Regatta was therefore much more than a rehearsal for the main competition.

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Naples demonstrated its ability to welcome international sailing while the spectacle in the Gulf appears to have inspired a new generation to discover the sport.

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The major target remains the **38th America’s Cup in 2027**, but one part of the challenge has already begun: ensuring that the Cup is not simply something to watch from the waterfront, but an opportunity to bring more people closer to sailing and the sea.

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And a **17% rise in sailing registrations in Campania** is a promising first result.

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