adminLONDON. — German sportswear giant Adidas, the biggest sponsor of the scandal-hit International Association of Athletics Federations, is to end its multi-million dollar backing of the governing body four years early, the BBC reported on 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 result of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) Independent Commission’s first report, published in November, which detailed claims of “state sponsored doping” within Russia.
Earlier this month, commission chairman Dick Pound produced a second report, which revealed that “corruption was embedded” within the IAAF under former president Lamine Diack.
That, the BBC said, led Adidas to terminate its agreement, with officials at the company telling the IAAF of its decision this week.
According to the BBC, Adidas believes the doping revelations in Pound’s report constitute a breach of its agreement with the IAAF. — AFP.
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