The British Olympic Association has banned the use of the phrase «Team GB» in the name of the team that will represent the country in the oldest and most prestigious regatta in the world - the America's Cup «» .
Team GB founder and two-time Olympic medallist Ben Ainslie has had to change its name twice in the last two weeks, first because of a change of sponsor, and now because of a legal conflict with the sports regulator.
«Two weeks ago, Ainslie accepted an offer from oil company INEOS CEO Jim Ratcliffe to sponsor the team's participation in the 36th America's Cup». One of the terms of the $217 million deal was to rename the syndicate from Land Rover BAR to Ineos Team GB. The newly formed partners even managed to present a digital version of the future AC75 monotypes with the new logo.
The association offered Ratcliffe a fee for the use of the phrase. The turn of events came as an unpleasant surprise to Ainslie, who is the first sailor to win five Olympic sailing medals, including four golds, for the United Kingdom.
The association has not named any specific sums to the billionaire, but said it has no intention of giving up any trademark money that could go towards supporting Britain's Olympic campaigns. The businessman «naively» imagined that using the acronym GB would present him in «a patriotic» light and provoke a sentimental response from Association members, the regulator's management said.
We can only hope that before the competition, which will be held in 2021 in Auckland, the British syndicate will not have to change the name again.
