Adidas seeking to cut sponsorship ties with IAAF - reports

If confirmed, the news would be a huge blow to IAAF president Lord Coe

Lord Sebastian Coe and Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer in 2007 (GETTY IMAGES)

Adidas has told the IAAF that it is to end its sponsorship agreement with athletics' governing body four years early, according to reports.

Adidas signed an 11-year agreement with the IAAF in 2008 but, according to a report from the BBC, has now signalled its intentions to end the deal.

The IAAF has been engulfed in a doping scandal over the last year, with a World Anti-Doping Agency independent commission reporting of "state sponsored" doping in Russia, while a second commission report said "the IAAF Council could not have been unaware of the extent of doping in athletics and the non-enforcement of applicable anti-doping rules."

If the reports are confirmed, they will serve a huge blow to IAAF president Lord Coe, who succeeded Lamine Diack in the role in August last year.

There has been no comment from the IAAF or Adidas.