QPR Officially Announce Gulf Air as Shirt Sponsor

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UPDATE: DAILY MAIL ' "Championship side Queens Park Rangers today announced a club record shirt sponsorship deal with Gulf Air. The three-year contract is believed to be worth £1million a season and the overall value could rise to £7m depending on Rangers gaining promotion and staying in the Premier League....Daily Mail


Official Photo of the new strip

QPR OFFICIAL SITE - EXCLUSIVE: QPR FLYING HIGH WITH GULF AIR

Queens Park Rangers Football Club today (Thursday) proudly announced Gulf Air as the team's official shirt sponsor on a three-year deal.

The deal will see the Club carry the Gulf Air's branding on all team kit, including First Team home, away and third shirts.

The partnership will also see the introduction of a Gulf Air supporter loyalty scheme for Club members, the prospect of a football community scouting program based in the Middle East and various community based initiatives in Bahrain and London.

Björn Näf, CEO of Gulf Air, said: "This is a very exciting deal for Gulf Air. Like QPR, Gulf Air is building a phenomenal success story and with it a powerful global brand with a class leading product.The UK market is incredibly important for Gulf Air and for Bahrain as a nation and we are delighted to be strengthening our ties further."

He continued: "We are arriving at the start of an incredible journey for Queens Park Rangers Football Club. The target of breaking into the top-flight of arguably the best league in world football is one that excites everyone at the Club and at Gulf Air and we are looking forward to helping QPR achieve its true potential.

"This deal offers a multitude of opportunities for the people of Bahrain and we are working with QPR to roll out a variety of initiatives aimed at supporting grass roots football in Bahrain. We wish the Club every success for the forthcoming season and we can't wait to see the Super Hoops take the field with Gulf Air proudly on their chests."

Flavio Briatore, Chairman of QPR Holdings Limited, said: "I am extremely excited and privileged to be announcing a partnership with Gulf Air."

"The relationship brings together two brands that have mutual objectives and desires to move forward and embrace a global audience.

"It is a very exciting time for everyone involved with the Club. Today we are one step closer to achieving our goal of making Queens Park Rangers Football Club a global brand and putting Loftus Road on the world football map."

Bernie Ecclestone said: "We are very pleased to have the support of Gulf Air in helping QPR to achieve another move forward."

Amit Bhatia, Vice-Chairman of QPR Holdings Limited, added: "We are extremely honoured and delighted to have Gulf Air as such an important and strategic partner, who shares our vision of excellence and progress.

"As we continue to work hard to revolutionise QPR as a Club and a brand, it is fantastic to have the encouragement from Gulf Air, who have seen the enormous potential of the Club to migrate into the Premiership. The energy within the Club is ever increasing and we are extremely excited about the forthcoming season."

The agreement between the W12-based Football Club and Gulf Air is the latest in a number of high profile sponsorship deals secured by Queens Park Rangers since the Club's recent takeover.

Earlier this year, Queens Park Rangers secured Santander as the Club's official financial partner and established a five-year multimillion pound deal with Lotto Sport Italia, as the Club's official kit supplier.QPR


QPR Offiical Site - THE NEW KIT EXPLAINED

At Thursday's press conference at Somerset House, the brand-new collection of the Lotto Sport Italia home kit for the 2008/2009 season was unveiled.

The Italian sportswear company, acting as Technical Sponsor and Official Supplier until 2013, will provide QPR with the apparel and accessories for matches, training sessions and leisure time, for the First Team through to the Centre of Excellence.

Created by Lotto's Research and Development Centre in close co-operation with QPR, the new team uniforms are the right fusion of designs characterising the Club in the past and the present, integrating the new Club crest.

The First Team kit features the traditional Hoops in reflex blue and white, as required expressly by the Club being its distinctive colours. However, the Hoops have been revised with new graphics enriched with silver details, visible on the front insert of the collar, on the stitching on the sleeve set-in and on the Club logo. This latter component, which is the new and innovative, has been translated into a high definition patch.

The shirt has a fitted shape fit and is made of Poly Tech Stretch, an extremely lightweight, breathable elasticised fabric that ensures maximum comfort and the least amount of fatigue during play.

The shorts come in two interchangeable colours, one in reflex blue and the other in white. As well as the Lotto logos on the side, the team crest stands out in a reduced and more proportioned size than on the shirt.

The collection is completed by a proposal of leisure articles for the team: short-sleeved and long-sleeved polo shirts, as well as hooded sweatshirts in line with the streetwear fashion. The articles are personalised by means of the crest on the back, created in silver with a ginned and antiqued effect. Carbon jersey, the fabric chosen for the polo shirts and sweatshirts, is a cotton treated with a special finishing which makes it particularly soft to the touch and give its a vintage look. QPR