The United States will be facing Italy in the semi-finals for the America's Cup Challenger Series, which begins this weekend.

The four teams will compete to be the first to take on New Zealand in the "Auld Mug", the oldest trophy of international sport dating back to 1851.

The Louis Vuitton Cup Final will be played by the first team that wins five games in each semi-final. The winner will face the Kiwis at October's America Cup Match.

After winning a round-robin series and beating Italy in the sail-off to win top spot, Ben Ainslie’s British team was given a choice of opponents for their semi-final.

Ainslie, speaking at a press event for the remaining four skippers, said: "You've got to make a final decision and then get going and win some races."

France has already been eliminated from the race between giant mono-hulls with foils, the AC75. They are raised above the water by high-tech hydrofoils, and can reach speeds of up to 50 knots.

"I'm quite happy to be racing against INEOS Britannia. "They showed great performance in round-robin and I think we should learn from the best," said Swiss skipper Arnaud PSAROFAGIS.

The U.S. will start their semi-finals without Paul Goodison. Goodison was their first choice of helm along with Tom Slingsby. However, he sustained an injury after a fall in their boat.

Slingsby stated on Friday that "we're still taking things day by day" for his return. He added that Lucas Calabrese, who had taken over the role of American Magic was "doing an amazing job". (Reporting and editing by Toby Davis; Alexander Smith)

(source: Reuters)