"The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron... has accepted a challenge from Circolo della Vela Sicilia which was received immediately upon the victory of Emirates Team New Zealand in the last race of the 35th America's Cup," it said in a statement.
"As the first challenger, CVS will be the Challenger of Record for the 36th America's Cup and its representative team will be Luna Rossa Challenge.
"The 36th America’s Cup will be open to further challengers from any organised Yacht Club of a foreign country under conditions to be announced in due course."
After beating Oracle Team USA in international sport's oldest trophy, the New Zealand outfit added that plans for the next edition will "play out in the next couple of weeks".
(Reporting by Alex Smith, Editing by Ken Ferris)
