Adidas has inserted a new clause into the contracts of the athletes it sponsors promising not to drop them if they reveal themselves to be gay.

The sports manufacturer made the announcement last week at a conference discussing LGBT awareness in sports.

The new clause reads: "Adidas acknowledges and adheres to the principles of diversity, as this is a central part of the Adidas group philosophy. Therefore Adidas warrants that this agreement will neither be terminated nor modified in case the athlete comes out to the public as a member of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community."

Adidas's roster of sports stars includes diver Tom Daley, who came out in 2013, but although there have been an increasing number of athletes to come out in recent years, there remain no openly gay high-profile football stars still actively involved in the game.