Ben Ainslie, a British sailing ace, expects to reveal within a few weeks who is funding his next America's Cup bid, and the team he will be bringing along for the event in Naples, Italy, scheduled for 2027.

Ainslie has set himself the goal of "bringing the Cup home" from the United States, where he won the Auld Mug in 2013. He also won the Olympic sailing title in 2012 with Oracle Team USA.

Ainslie said this week that he would have more information on his new campaign within two to four weeks after separating from INEOS.

In an interview with a London-based journalist, he said: "Watch this space."

The 48-year old said a long term America's Cup agreement reached last month with New Zealand's defenders provided much needed certainty for financial supporters.

Ainslie described the partnership as a "real game-changer" in terms of commerciality.

Pushing it to the MAX

Ainslie is expected to reach the 75 million euro ($87 million) cap in order to win sailing's most prized trophy.

"In any development sport where you have a cap, it's going to be pushed to the maximum... because that's what a technical sports is all about. The more you invest in development, the better," Ainslie said. He, along with other teams, must reuse the hulls from the previous cup.

Ainslie stated that his team has come a long way in the past decade. However, it will always be difficult to beat New Zealand who won this trophy in Barcelona for the third year in a row.

"Yes, it will be difficult." Ainslie stated that the last year has been challenging, but I believe we have every chance of winning the next cup, and setting ourselves up to win for the long-term.

Ainslie was asked who he expected to face in the race to take on New Zealand. He said that the Italian and French teams would be competing and he also hoped the Swiss would be there.

He hopes that American Magic will still make it to Naples, despite their announcement last month. He also said he heard "some rumours", about an Australian late entry.

Ainslie has kept everyone guessing as to whether he'll be steering or stepping aside, like he did for his SailGP Team.

Ainslie said, "I would love to steer that car (but)... It's not just what I love to do. It's also what's right for the team." Reporting by Alexander Smith, Editing by Toby Davis

(source: Reuters)