Adidas AG, German Sportswear Company, will be ending an 11-year sponsorship deal with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) almost four years early, the BBC reported on Jan. 24.

According to Reuters, the BBC reported that Adidas, the biggest sponsor of the sport’s governing body, decided to break off their contract with the IAAF as a direct result of the drug abuse and corruption scandal of last year’s December, which has been plaguing athletics since then.

Moreover, the BBC also said that Adidas considered the accusations of corruption within the organization a breach of their agreement with the IAAF.However, Reuters has rendered unable to independently confirm the report.

Calls, placed on Jan. 24, to Adidas and the IAAF were not immediately returned. Neither organization commented to the BBC on the report.

The BBC, citing anonymous sources, said the sponsorship deal, signed in November 2008, was worth around $8 million (5.61 million pounds) per year.

Adidas is one of the IAAF’s “Official Partners” along with Canon, Toyota, Seiko, TDK, TBS and Mondo, and, if confirmed, the disclosure represents the latest in a series of setbacks for the Monaco-based IAAF.

Late last year, an independent commission for the World Anti-Doping Council (WADA) revealed prevalent state-sponsored doping in Russia. Last week, the commission released a second report on its investigations that accused the IAAF of having “embedded corruption” at the very top of the organization under former president Lamine Diack.