Pompey planning Malta visit

English Premier League club Portsmouth FC are planning to hold a mid-season training camp in Malta in the near future to further raise the profile of their commercial agreement with Air Malta.

"We are looking at the possibility of getting the team to Malta for a mid-term training camp," Paul Bell, Portsmouth FC's commercial director, told The Sunday Times after Pompey's 1-0 league defeat to Aston Villa at Fratton Park last month.

A group of Maltese sports journalists were among the 20,000-odd fans who watched the midweek match, which was shown live on Sky, after joining an Air Malta-organised press trip to England.

The pre-match tour of Fratton Park and the clash between Portsmouth, currently struggling in the Premier League after a string of negative results, and high-flying Aston Villa was the highlight of a brief sojourn in England.

The occasion also doubled up as an opportunity to gauge the level of exposure Portsmouth are devoting to Air Malta six months after the signing of their commercial agreement.

"We have a two-year agreement in place," Bell said. "This partnership is not just about branding and board advertising. When we sat down with the people of Air Malta, we wanted to go over and above the usual commercial deal.

"We have been working on a host of other initiatives as Portsmouth FC are willing to support Air Malta and help them reach their goals and objectives.

"There are plans to organise sports youth programmes, centred on football, in conjunction with the Sports Council (Kunsill Malti ghall-iSport). Our academy coaches will travel to Malta to help facilitate this initiative. We want to discover the best youth talent in Maltese football."

When Air Malta were unveiled as Portsmouth's official airline partner in July last year, the two parties pledged to embark on a variety of co-marketing and advertising opportunities during the club's home matches.

Pitchside electronic adverts promoting 'Escape breaks' in Malta, the presence of the Air Malta logo on interview backdrops and adverts in the home matchday programme, are incorporated in the agreement.

Besides exploiting their relationship with the Navy and the Community Council to achieve added publicity for Air Malta, Bell revealed that Portsmouth are putting the finishing touches to an incentive scheme for Pompey's supporters.

"Our season-ticket holders will be able to benefit from special offers when they fly with Air Malta," Bell added.

"Also, our man-of-the-match award is sponsored by Air Malta and the Grand Hotel Excelsior. We are giving away two flights to Malta plus accommodation to every player who wins the man-of-the-match award.

"This means that during the course of the season, some of our players will also get the chance to visit the island."

The man-of-the-match award at the end of the Portsmouth-Villa match was presented to Jermaine Pennant, who joined Tony Adams's team on loan from Liverpool during the January transfer window.

Bell stressed that Portsmouth are eager to maximise the potential of their commercial agreement with Air Malta.

"Our aim is to create a bigger legacy to our two-year deal," the Portsmouth commercial director enthused.

"In terms of global branding and awareness, the Premier League is a great vehicle. Last year, 660 million households had access to Premier League football and Portsmouth games featured in over 7,000 hours of TV coverage."