Reebok will manufacture shirts for French soccer club Racing Club de Lens for the next five years.

Lens's 'blood and gold' kit is one of the most famous in soccer, and gives the club its nickname, les Sang et Or. That was clearly attractive to Reebok: "Lens was the best choice for us because Racing's kit is really part of the club's spirit," said Guillaume de Monplane, Reebok's marketing director.

The club, champions of France in 1998, was relegated to the second tier of French soccer in 2008, but bounced back to the top flight at the first attempt, beating Montpellier to the Ligue 2 title. De Monplanet was quick to point out that Reebok limits its patronage to just a small number of clubs.

"Little by little our portfolio is growing, but our goal isn't to have partnerships with 50 clubs," he added. "We leave that to Nike, Adidas or Puma, because our objective is to have clubs that really carry the  Reebok message."