Nestle drops sponsorship of IAAF

The doping scandal plaguing the global track and field organization took another financial turn. After Adidas ended their sponsorship with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) last month, the largest food company in the world, Nestle, has followed suit with immediate effect.

"This decision was taken in light of negative publicity associated with allegations of corruption and doping in sport made against the IAAF," Nestle said in a statement.

Nestle is the main sponsor of the IAAF's Kid's Athletics Program, a program that brings athletics to children around the world. This is the final year of Nestle's sponsorship, and the IAAF is trying to keep Nestle on for the rest of it.

"This has been a successful program with 15 million kids aged seven to 12 years in 76 countries taking part in fun team activities which promotes a healthy, active lifestyle," said the IAAF in a statement.

IAAF plagued by allegations

This is the latest blow to the track and field organization over the past few months. In August 2015, an investigation by English newspaper "The Sunday Times" and German broadcaster ARD/WDR revealed that one third of the medals in endurance events at the Olympics and World Championships were given to athletes with suspicious tests, though none of them had their awards revoked. Former IAAF president Lamine Diack is under investigation by French police for corruption, and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) revealed extensive corruption in the IAAF in attempting to cover up the doping scandals in Russia.

kd/jh (AP)