Keith Mills arrives in Spain today intent on poaching world-class yachtsmen and seducing sponsors.

As 12 squads begin the final round of qualifying races for the 2007 edition off the coast of Valencia, Mills is seeking to shape the lineup for his 2009 entry Team Origin.

"Most of the talent involved in America's Cup racing is going to be tied up until the summer,'' Mills said in an interview in London before departing. "We'll be in Valencia for a bit of time nailing those contracts.''

Mills who has already recruited ing Nick Masson as his commercial director and Mike Sanderson as Team director.

Masson formerly held the same role at Swiss defending champion Team Alinghi. Sanderson is a New Zealander who competed for Oracle in 2003 before skippering ABN Amro One to the Volvo title last year.

Mills won't identify the makeup of his crew until after the America's Cup final in July and declined to comment on reports in U.K. media that British Olympic champion Ben Ainslie will switch to Origin after competing in Valencia for Emirates Team New Zealand, which tops the rankings after 12 rounds of qualifying.

"It would be inappropriate to name any of the guys,'' he said. "They are all currently under contract with other teams. Their loyalties are, and should be, with their teams.''

Team Origin will use this week's qualifying races and the April 16-June 12 Louis Vuitton Cup to showcase the America's Cup to potential sponsors and private investors. It aims to have a permanent presence in Valencia in the middle of May, Mills said.

Sponsors are being sought for at least half the 25 million-pound ($49.4 million or €37 million) annual budget. The remainder will come from Mills and other private investors.

Mills sees no reason to poach other teams' sponsors because there are enough companies with an interest in the sport to approach.

"In the last two weeks we've started having commercial meetings and the response has been really positive", said Mills. "We'd be happy to talk to a company that's involved in the cup but not happy with their team,''

"Are we going to steal other people's sponsors? I don't think we'd do that.''