LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - British clothing and footwear retailer JD Sports Fashion Plc (JD.L) said on Tuesday 4 August it has further diversified its business with the acquisition of rugby brand Canterbury for 6.5 million pounds ($11.01 million).

JD SPorts - Photo: www.jdsports.co.uk

JD said it purchased the key trading assets and trade of Canterbury Europe Limited along with the global rights to the Canterbury and Canterbury of New Zealand brands, which are over 100 years old, from the firm's administrators.

The deal to buy Canterbury, the current brand shirt sponsor of the international rugby union teams of South Africa and Australia, builds on JD's purchase of the Kooga Rugby brand last month.

Shares in JD were unchanged at 477 pence at 0849 GMT, valuing the business at 232 million pounds.

(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Mark Potter)