Undoubtedly the unresolved court case has brought uncertainty to the event. The judge has yet to give his decision on the case, in which Ellison/GGYC challenged the validity of the Spanish club to participate under the trust deed that governs the cup. Until he gives his judgement, the entire event is in limbo, with each side sniping at the other from the wings.

Out of the crackle of sniper fire came the sudden decision to postpone the event, which threw the into disarray. Sponsors will no doubt be alarmed that they now have to spend lots more money to campaign for another two, or maybe three extra years, should the event be played out in 2010 or 2011.

But according to Bob Fisher writing in The Guardian, the money problem stems from Louis Vuitton - which had sponsored the event for 24 years - announcing it was withdrawing its backing, which had been some €45.2m for the 2007 event.

And even with the undecided court case, a growing number of teams has paid up and entered the event before the December 15 cut-off date. But not one company has yet come forward with an offer to fund the event for 2009.

The latest is that other challengers have now come out fighting, telling Ellison to drop his court case and put in an official challenge. And, as there are already 12 bases in Valencia, should Ellison not get his challenge in quickly, he may find there's no room his team in Valencia, which can hold only 14 teams...

Alinghi has said that it's looking at pushing the competition back to 2010 or 2011. Alinghi's design team coordinator Grant Simmer said: 'We look forward to the end of this uncertainty and getting started with our plans to defend the cup.'