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QUEENS PARK RANGERS Championship winning players celebrated promotion in their Gulf Air emblazoned shirts at the weekend ... but it's still 'up in the air' as to whether they will be brandishing the same name in the dizzy heights of the English Premiership next season.
Bahrain's national carrier's three-year multi-million pound sponsorship deal with the club has come to an end and a 'delicate and difficult' decision on whether to continue the partnership has to be made.
Chief executive officer Samer Al Majali said: "2010-2011 was a fantastic season for Queens Park Rangers and their promotion to the Premier League was well deserved, I would like to congratulate them on their achievement.
"Gulf Air's 'golden falcon' has proved very lucky for the team which has gone from strength to strength in the last three years. We are proud to be associated with the club and I wish them the best of luck for the future."
Whether that's a parting shot or the start of a whole new relationship is anyone's guess. The airline is unwilling to discuss the sponsorship situation at present and the same goes for the London football club now preparing to take on the likes of Emirates-sponsored Arsenal and Etihad-backed Manchester City in a competition which attracts a global TV audience in excess of 450 million people and is arguably the biggest show on the planet.
The timing of the contract renewal could not have come at a more 'sensitive' time for both parties, according to one sports sponsorship analyst, who asked not to be named.
"In fact, 'bad timing' seems to have thwarted this partnership deal throughout ... until now," he said. "Football success, like business, is all about timing. If a striker takes off too quickly, he's offside but if he times his run to perfection, he'll beat the defence and score.
"When it comes to QPR, they took too long to get to the promised land of the Premiership. Gulf Air really needed the club to be parading its name in the top flight 12 months earlier, but instead the players were flirting with relegation.
"It's known throughout the industry Gulf Air is struggling on the financial front. The recent political unrest in Bahrain hasn't helped and the country has had a terrible press in the UK which may influence the club into seeking a new deal elsewhere. However, we're now in extra time and in the football business anything can change at the last minute, it's a funny old game.
"The situation has turned full circle, Bahrain is back in business and where better to shout the news to the world than from the height of the Premiership? The timing could be perfect."
Insiders at the club are also said to be disappointed that the partnership with the kingdom has not been fully exploited. An initial QPR kid's training camp in Isa Town was never repeated and an invitation to play the national team was cancelled and never rearranged.
Gulf Air, at the same time, has faced criticism from some MPs who said they had never heard of the football club and there has been frequent criticism voiced about the financial support the company receives from the government.
The airline also suffered a massive hit from the cancellation of this year's opening Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix although it is hoped the race will now take place in November.
The F1 race and QPR have been its two biggest sponsorship deals to date and it is no coincidence that the football club is co-owned by Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone. QPR can also boast steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, one of the wealthiest men in the world, as a major stakeholder.
But nothing is ever easy when it comes to the club. Promotion to the Premiership was only confirmed on Saturday after the club escaped a points deduction for breaching rules over the signing of Argentine midfielder Alejandro Faurlin.
But the club will have to pay an £875,000 fine after being found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute and using an unauthorised agent in the 2009 deal to sign Faurlin from Argentinain club Instituto.
"Although two of the charges have been found to be proved there will be no points deduction made from Queens Park Rangers FC in this season or the next," the FA said in a statement. "The club was warned as to its future conduct with particular regard as to regulatory compliance."
QPR said its lawyers are now 'considering the full details of this sanction'. QPR had feared a 15-point penalty that would have denied the club the second-tier League Championship title and prevented them from returning to the Premier League after a 15-year absence.
But the FA regulatory commission cleared QPR of five of the seven charges, and the fine is dwarfed by the windfall of at least £90 million that the club is guaranteed by securing promotion.
"I think they (the FA) have acted correctly with what they've done," Ecclestone said. Faurlin was among the QPR players who received the League Championship trophy at Loftus Road on Saturday after the final match of the season ended in a 2-1 loss to Leeds.
"A lot of the lads, myself included, were in tears in the dressing room when we heard," manager Neil Warnock said. "Everyone, one by one, went up to Alejandro and hugged him. It was great."
QPR chairman Gianni Paladini was also cleared of sending false documents to the FA when Faurlin extended his contract in October. "We did nothing wrong," Paladini said. "But it's all over now."
The only outstanding question is whether Gulf Air remains onboard.
