German sportswear giant Adidas, the biggest sponsor of the scandal hit International Association of Athletics Federations, is to end its multimillion dollar backing of the governing body four years early, the BBC reported Sunday.
The BBC said Adidas’s decision was related directly to the doping scandal engulfing global track and field.
Adidas is understood to have told the IAAF it was thinking of withdrawing from its agreement as a a result of the World Anti Doping Agency Independent Commission’s first report, published in November, which detailed claims of “state sponsored doping” within Russia.
According to the BBC, Adidas believes the doping revelations in Pound’s report constitute a breach of its agreement with the IAAF.
The 11year sponsorship deal was signed in 2008 and was due to run until 2019. At the time it was agreed, the deal was reported to be worth $33 million.
