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SOME serious soul searching and business acumen will be needed if Gulf Air is going to continue its roller-coaster journey with Queens Park Rangers into the top flight of English football.
The Championship side is riding high on the crest of a winning wave of results and if the national carrier leaves it too late to renew its sponsorship it could find its bid hijacked by another company wanting global coverage on the Premiership stage.
But if the airline was to jump in too early and QPR falter in the promotion bid further turbulence would surely follow and leave management open to attack from critics.
Mr Majali said: "The financial climate today is very different from when we signed two years ago, regardless of the success of the club on the pitch. That makes the mechanics of any negotiation very different.
"Besides, every time when a sponsorship comes up for renewal, it is natural for anyone to evaluate factors such as performance of the team, ratings, ownership vis-ˆ-vis the company's business objectives and priorities.
"We are in the midst of a restructuring process to achieve a commercially-sustainable business by 2012 while raising the levels of product and service delivery to a higher quality and greater consistency for our passengers.
"At this stage these are our main priorities. That's the balance for us as a business; What's the price? What's the return on investment? Does it add value for our customers? QPR will be judged on these parameters."
Fresh negotiations would involve the airline's marketing department. Mr Majali added: "Have talks already started? Well, they never finished from the day we joined hands with the club, we have always had a healthy and open dialogue with the club; let's see how things progress."
The big question will be the price ... and the biggest challenge ... the timing of striking a deal. The season is relatively young and although QPR are in a strong position and playing well, anything can happen in football. But the longer Gulf Air leaves it to signing on the dotted line, the more suitors the club will have calling, particularly if the side remains front-runners into the New Year.
Mr Majali said: "The exposure in the Premier League is global, and that comes at a price, there is no denying that. However, there are also a number of other clubs and indeed significant opportunities outside of football that would also bring global exposure in association with a sports property; it's a buyer's market. Then again, it's better in sponsorship to foster long-term relationships.
"Any deal would need to be three years at least to give it traction and the proper level of leverage."
Insiders at QPR say the club would welcome the chance to continue working with Gulf Air and build on the relationship. But it is understood that officials were disappointed when a planned game against the Bahrain national team was cancelled and never re-arranged and despite one successful coaching event at the Gulf Air Club and an event at the Royal Golf Club, various community-based initiatives in Bahrain and London were never 'fully exploited' and a rival Arsenal Soccer School was established in the kingdom, although, diplomatically, the north London club's Emirates logo is not emblazoned across the pupils' shirts.
QPR is partly-owned by multi-billionaire Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, the fourth richest person in the world, and the Mittal family recently increased its shareholding in the club which plays home games just a short distance from Premiership sides Chelsea and Fulham.
Officially, a club spokesman, said: 'We enjoy a good business relationship with Gulf Air and are concentrating on delivering the goods on and off the pitch. We will have to wait and see what develops as far as future shirt sponsorship is concerned."
But ultimately, the ball is in Gulf Air's court. "Sponsorship is considered part of our core marketing activities and so comes under our overall marketing budget," said Mr Majali.
"Like any business, this is typically between three and five per cent of total revenues. Our sponsorship strategy is founded on the key sports sponsorships - Formula One and QPR, in addition to a range of local initiatives aimed at supporting the arts within Bahrain and identifying ourselves within the business community.
"We are the patron of La Fontaine Centre for Contemporary Arts, for example, and we were the official carrier for the recent Economist conference in Bahrain, centred on re-building Iraq. They are all opportunities where we secure value for money that we invest and gain appropriate return on investments. If they weren't, we wouldn't do them."
The question of signing a renewed contract with QPR may not be the only soccer headache Mr Majali, the former president and CEO of Royal Jordanian airline, faces. The son of a former Jordanian prime minister is a keen football fan and an avid supporter of his national side. Jordan and Bahrain have both qualified for the 2011 Asian Football Cup Finals in Doha.
