Great Britain are set to make their first appearance at the America’s Cup for 60 years, after they ousted Italy from the qualifying event in Barcelona.

After clinching a spot in the finals on Friday, Ineos skipper Ben Ainslie said: “It’s a massive day for our team.

“I can’t say how proud I am of everyone, not just here on the water, but also back on the shore here in Barcelona, and we’ve got a lot of people in Brackley in the UK who have been helping us on the technical side, so this is for the team.

“It took a lot of people to come in and support. There were some amazing people who came in and supported the team financially, then of course, Jim [Ratcliffe] and his team at Ineos coming in and helping us. That’s another huge thank you to all the supporters of British sailing and British America’s Cup over the years. This moment is for you.”

TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.

The 2024 America’s Cup will be live across TNT Sports with coverage beginning at 13:00 UK time on Sunday, October 12.

On top of the live coverage in the UK and Ireland across TNT Sports and discovery+, there will also be a highlights programme on race days.

• Saturday, October 12: Race 1, Race 2
• Sunday, October 13: Race 3, Race 4
• Monday, October 14: Reserve day (if required)
• Wednesday, October 16: Race 5, Race 6
• Thursday, October 17: Reserve day (if required)
• Friday, October 18: Race 7, Race 8 (if required)
• Saturday, October 19: Race 9 (if required), Race 10 (if required)
• Sunday, October 20: Race 11 (if required), Race 12 (if required)
• Monday, October 21: Race 13 (if required)
• Tuesday, October22 to Sunday, October 27: Reserve days (if required)

Scheduled dates and times are subject to wind and weather conditions.

The historic competition, which first took place in 1851, sees two teams face off in a best-of-13 format – essentially, whichever team first reaches seven race wins takes the crown.

Switzerland, Australia, United States and New Zealand are the only teams since the competition’s formation to triumph – and Great Britain will be eager to add their name to the esteemed list.

The crews will take on the waters of Port Olimpic in Barcelona – a 3.2km course which requires boats to stay within a 0.9km width restriction, with a penalty waiting for any team that strays too far.

Olympic Games champions Giles Scott and Dylan Fletcher-Scott headline the Great Britain team, while Blair Tuke of New Zealand will also be in action, vying to lead their respective countries to glory.

Each race is split into six legs. The two teams race upwind on the opening leg, before sailing downwind on the second, and repeating until all six have been conquered – with the victors claiming a point towards their target of seven.

Given that most days in the America’s Cup schedule see two races take place, a total of 12 legs will be sailed – subject to weather conditions in Barcelona – with the option of utilising reserve days.

Seems simple enough – now it is over to Great Britain and New Zealand. Can Ainslie’s team put GB in the history books? Tune in and find out with full coverage on TNT Sports and discovery+.