Dalton backs Saudis as Cup hosts

Grant Dalton, chief executive of the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona next year, has admitted Saudi Arabia is in the running to host the 2028 edition of sport’s oldest international trophy after a “hugely successful” regatta in Jeddah over the past three days.

In an interview with Telegraph Sport, Dalton dismissed concerns about ‘sportswashing’, saying the Saudis were excellent hosts and partners.

Saudi Arabia has been on a sporting land grab, bringing top-level football, boxing, golf, tennis and Formula One to the kingdom as part of a long-term strategy. The FIFA World Cup, the biggest sporting event in the world after the Olympics, is set to take place in the country in 2034.

Saudi Arabia also bid for the 37th America’s Cup. But Dalton, who is also chief executive of defenders Team New Zealand, in the end agreed a deal with Barcelona after it became clear that it would not be commercially viable to keep the Cup in Auckland.

However, he admitted that if New Zealand successfully defended the Cup again, he would have no issue returning to Saudi Arabia.

“We made the right call not to come here next year,” Dalton said. “And I think the Saudis would agree with that now, even though they were pretty p ..... off at the time. It was too soon.

“But we may well be back. It’s up to them if they want to bid, of course.”

Dalton said Jeddah had defied the doom-mongers, reserving particular criticism for American Magic, whom he accused of stirring up misplaced security fears and trying to have the event cancelled.

“What people are finding who have never been [to Saudi] before is that it’s not what they thought it was. A lot of people talk themselves into believing they’re about to go to Mogadishu in Blackhawk Down.’’

On criticism of human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, and whether the country was using sport to deflect attention from that, he said: “There are always plenty of clichéd answers to that. ‘You can’t change from without, you have to change from within’ etc. All I would say is they are excellent partners. They are hospitable. There’s a real will to help and they get things done.

“Maybe it is ‘sportswashing’, whatever that is. But if it’s good for sailing, and it’s good for Saudi, that’s good enough for me.”

“If it’s good for sailing, and it’s good for Saudi, that’s good enough for me.” Grant Dalton