Peter Storrie has promised that Portsmouth will be visiting the islands shortly for a mid-term or pre-season training camp after Pompey struck a deal with their new official airline partner Air Malta this week.
The affable Storrie, Chief Executive Officer at the South Coast club these past six-and-a-half years, told Maltese reporters at Fratton Park that he came to Malta 15 years ago for holidays and left with a good impression of the country.
Now, after negotiating the deal with Air Malta, the idea of returning to the Mediterranean country with the FA Cup-winning team for a training camp immediately flashed through his mind.
"We already had our people there to monitor the situation and we think that, now that we are partners with Air Malta, Portsmouth can indeed visit the country and spend a few days there with our team," he said.
"We know the training facilities in Malta are excellent and there are top-class hotels, good enough to cater for our needs."
"I'm optimistic this will happen in the near future, surely within the time-frame agreed upon in the partnership deal," Storrie added.
"Before, we'd been to Spain and Dubai for training, so, Malta could become our next destination."
Faced with questions about the duration and advantages of Portsmouth's link with Air Malta, Storrie said he hoped there will be an extension of the contract after 2010.
"This association with Air Malta can be prolonged by many more years as we are seeking long-term partnerships in this aspect of promotion. We don't want this to be just a matter of logos and signage.
"We know that the English game in Malta enjoys huge popularity and after verifying all information we are now sure that this agreement will be of great benefit to both parties."
After winning the FA Cup last May, Portsmouth are seeking to widen their supporters base and to promote the game even more at grassroots levels. In Malta, Storrie is confident they will reach their goals.
"We had some Maltese Pompey fans asking for FA Cup final tickets last season and that came as a surprise to many of us. Now, I want to be directly involved in discussions to create a stronger bond between Portsmouth FC and Maltese football. We have to work together in this," Storrie said.
Portsmouth want to establish themselves among the leading teams in the English Premiership.
They raised their profile by several notches last season after winning the FA Cup, beating Cardiff City 1-0 in the final at Wembley. These past two years they finished inside the top ten in the league standings.
"Season 2007-08 was simply superb," Storrie enthused.
"The atmosphere at Fratton Park was incredible. However, we are not looking back and resting on our laurels. We intend to build on that with Harry Redknapp as our manager.
"He has assembled a talented squad here. He has players who did not play regular football before joining us. There's a great team spirit, also thanks to the contribution of assistant manager Tony Adams and head coach Joe Jordan."
Storrie never thought Pompey would go all the way to Wembley last May. So much so that he did not object to his daughter planning her wedding day on the week of the FA Cup final.
"We struggled to eliminate Preston and when we were paired with Manchester United in the quarter-finals I thought our chances were as good as over. However, we defied the odds and won the cup. It was a double celebration for me."
Storrie now wants to take Portsmouth to another level. In fact, the new training ground project will be ready next year and plans are at an advanced stage to have a new stadium by 2011. At present, Fratton Park, with a seating capacity of 20,500, is the smallest ground in the Premier League.
"We have already identified a site for our new stadium. It will have a seating capacity of 36,000. That will increase to 45,000 should England be successful in the bidding for the 2018 World Cup and Portsmouth is selected as one of the host venues."
Indeed, Portsmouth have become a forward-looking club which makes the Air Malta deal even more viable and beneficial, businesswise.
These are busy days for Pompey and Storrie is working day and night to keep up with a tight schedule and reach most of his goals. So far, he's firmly on track.