Sailing’s first ever transfer fee deal

Following the news that private ownership had relieved the league of of Canada SailGP Team, and that double Olympic Gold medalist Giles Scott was leaving the British team to helm for Canada, the British team’s CEO Ben Ainslie revealed he was compensated for Scott’s departure.

As Scott was under contract to the Brits, Ainslie had negotiated sailing’s first ever transfer fee deal. A transfer fee is common in professional soccer whenever a player under contract moves between clubs. Scott has now signed a multi-year contract with the Canadian team and will make his debut when Season 5 begins in Dubai on November 23-24.

“This is a great opportunity for Giles and therefore we support his move to the Canada SailGP Team,” said Ainslie. “Giles did an excellent job as Driver of the Emirates GBR F50 and we are sure he will go on to achieve great things with the Canadian team. This is the first ever transfer fee deal in sailing, and it shows the level of the team’s performance last season as well as the strength of the commercialization of the League.”

Scott was handed the Driver role on-board the Emirates GBR F50 by Ainslie halfway through Season 4 in January 2024. Scott and Ainslie have a long history, competing with and against one another for the sport’s greatest prizes. Ainslie taking the Finn class Olympic Gold medal in 2004, 2008, and 2012 with Scott taking the Gold in 2016 and 2020.

Born in the UK, Scott also holds Canadian citizenship, having spent some of his early years in the country – including being introduced to sailing on the Ottawa River.

“It’s been amazing sailing with a great bunch on-board Emirates GBR in Season 4, they’re a great squad,” shared Scott. “It’s some positive but sad news to say I’m leaving the British team to head to another country that’s incredibly close to my heart. I’m really excited to make this step and I’m looking forward to some close racing against my good friends in the British team.”

Emirates GBR will announce its crew line-up for the 2024-25 Season in the coming weeks.

SailGP information – YouTube – Facebook

Season 5 Schedule
2024
November 23-24 – Dubai, UAE

2025
January 18-19 – Auckland, New Zealand
February 8-9 – Sydney, Australia
March 15-16 – Los Angeles, USA
March 22-26 – San Francisco, USA
May 3-4 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
June 7-8 – New York City, USA
July 19-20 – Great Britain *
August 16-17 – Sassnitz, Germany
September 6-7 – Taranto, Italy
September 20-21 – Geneva, Switzerland
October 4-5 – Andalucía – Cádiz, Spain
November 7-8 – Middle East *
November 29-30 – Grand Final – Abu Dhabi, UAE
* Venue to be announced

Format for Season 4:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• Up to seven qualifying fleet races of approximately 15 minutes may be scheduled for each regatta.
• The top three teams from qualifying advance to a final race to be crowned event champion and earn the largest share of the $300,000.00 USD event prize money purse (increases to $400k for Abu Dhabi with the winning team now earning $200k at each event).
• The season ends with the Grand Final, which includes the Championship Final Race for the top three teams in the season standing with the winner claiming the $2 million USD prize.
• The top team on points ahead of the three-boat Championship Final will be awarded $350,000.00.

For competition documents, click here.

Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing among national teams in some of the iconic harbors around the globe.

Source: EGBR, Scuttlebutt