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US Carcassonne to accept porn site sponsorship

Club plays in second tier of French rugby

CNN  — 

As far as ideas for boosting ticket sales go, it’s nakedly ambitious.

French rugby club US Carcassonne has announced it will accept sponsorship from porn site Jacquie & Michel ahead of its match against Biarritz on March 1.

Based in the south of France, Carcassonne is currently ninth in the Pro D2, the second tier of French rugby.

“The objective of this partnership is to improve our visibility and our digital notoriety,” said a statement on the club website Thursday.

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“We wanted to provoke enthusiasm and some fallout. That objective was achieved this morning, with the increase in demand at the box office for the match.

“This partnership is in accordance with a very well-defined charter with the aim of the club preserving its values,” the statement read.

READ: Major Japanese convenience store chains to stop selling pornography ahead of Rugby World Cup

A later update on the Carcassonne website said there was “pleasant surprise” within the club in discovering that the announcement had been picked up by media outlets in USA, New Zealand, and Chile.

Jonathan Jourdan, head of sponsorship at US Carcassonne, later told CNN via email that players will wear the Jacquie & Michael logo on their pre-match training kit while there will be other promotions around the game.

However, Jourdan added the advertisement and activities would be family friendly with no untoward images on show.

Time will tell whether the partnership will develop into a long-term relationship.

This story was updated to include Jonathan Jourdan’s quotes.