Burnley manager Vincent Kompany believes increasing diversity at boardroom level is the key to unlocking change at every other level of football. Last week the Football Association released figures showing the football clubs who had voluntarily pledged to improve their ethnic and gender diversity through the Football Leadership Diversity Code had collectively failed to hit any of their annual targets. Fifty-three clubs have signed up to the FLDC, which is in its third year and which sets voluntary targets in four areas of recruitment – senior leadership roles, team operations, coaching in the men’s game and coaching in the women’s game. But figures for the last 12 months show clubs failing to achieve success in any category. Senior leadership hiring of black, Asian and mixed heritage candidates is set at 15 per cent, but clubs only achieved 9.1 per cent. In men’s clubs, the target for new coaching hires from a black, Asian or mixed heritage background was 25 per cent but clubs only managed 16 per cent. Asked what he thought could be done to improve those figures, Kompany said change must come from the top. “You’d like to think over time this is going to evolve,” the 37-year-old said. “I’ve always made the point clearly and I think in this day and age it’s even more important – what is the diversity in a boardroom, the levers of power? “The coaching, you give the job to the best people but I think the diversity, where it’s really needed is where the power is, that’s what affects everything we’re doing. “If you have a boardroom that’s diverse, you can’t brush things under the carpet. These things will get solved.” Where it's really needed is where the power is, that's what affects everything we're doing. Burnley manager Vincent Kompany The latest figures show that within the 53 club signatories, 21 per cent of senior leaders and 29 per cent of team operations are female and seven per cent of senior leaders and nine per cent of team operations are black, Asian or mixed heritage. Across the coaching workforce, 13 per cent of coaches and 11 per cent of senior coaches are black, Asian or mixed heritage. “If you have 15 (job) applications and management and the board have got opinions from different walks of life, you can’t just brush it under the carpet, it goes through everything…” Kompany added. “Today you have to choose between black and white, pro this or against this, but I think once you have a little bit of diversity you get much closer to the truth. The reality is, yes there isn’t enough but the truth is that’s only what we see. What’s behind it is more important to bring balance. “When it’s balanced it’s going to be more fair and when it’s more fair it will take a little bit of pressure away from the whole debate I think.” Read More Erik ten Hag backs under-fire Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana Mauricio Pochettino understands reason behind early struggles for Moises Caicedo Ange Postecoglou knows he can succeed at Tottenham by sticking to plan Burnley belief still burning bright for Vincent Kompany Tiger Woods says fatigue to blame for dropped shots in closing holes Phil Vickery and Gavin Henson among ex-players named in rugby concussion lawsuit

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A man calmly eating his sandwich while police and protestors in France clashed metres away from him has become the latest hero of the internet. In a video, dozens of angry protestors can be seen hurling projectiles at police dressed in full riot gear in what is believed to be a Parisian suburb. A large fire burns between the groups sending plumes of smoke into the air. Amid the chaos the man sits on a public bench eating his sandwich, apparently unfazed. The video published on 30 June quickly went viral, amassing 9.3m views. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Twitter users praised the man’s calmness, with one person saying: “Normal summer activity in France: a person casually eating his sandwich in the midst of anti-police riots.” Another person said: “When you buy a baguette in Paris everyone knows you are allowed to finish eating it anywhere you like.” One commenter called the scene: “The Frenchest thing you’ll see today.” Another said: “This is another level of bravery.” The scene comes after nearly a week of violent social unrest in France after police allegedly shot dead a 17-year-old boy of Algerian descent, named as Nahel M. Police initially suggested the teenager drove his car towards them intending to hurt them, local media wrote. But footage verified by the AFP news agency appears to show an officer pointing his weapon at the driver through the car window and firing at point-blank range as the person behind the wheel seemingly tries to drive off. The officer who allegedly fired the gun had said he opened fire because he felt his and his colleague’s lives were in danger. He has since been arrested on charges of voluntary manslaughter. Forty-five-thousand police officers were deployed across the country on Friday evening as the government scrambled to bring the situation under control, with everybody from President Emmanuel Macron to footballer Kylian Mbappe calling for an end to the violence. The video of the man eating his sandwich echoes a similar slip shared earlier this year during another French protest. In March, diners were filmed calmly drinking a glass of wine in Bordeaux while demonstrators lit fires in the streets metres away from them. It seems that even a nationwide social uprising won't come between the French and their lunch. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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WhatsApp has introduced a new feature that will bring generative artificial intelligence tools to the platform for the first time. The world’s most popular messaging app, which counts close to 3 billion monthly active users around the world, will allow a limited number of people to create custom stickers using a new AI-powered ‘Create’ button. The latest feature follows similar generative AI tools from other messaging platforms, with Snapchat introducing a ‘My AI’ chatbot in February powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology. Instagram, which is also owned by Meta, is reportedly planning its own AI chatbot that will come with up to 30 different personalities for users to choose from. Meta did not respond to a request from The Independent for more details about Instagram’s AI plans, though leaked images reveal options for asking questions, seeking advice and offering writing assistance. “Bring AI to your chats for a more fun and engaging experience,” stated text on the leaked images. “Chat with 30 AI personalities and find which one you like the best.” The new WhatsApp update, first spotted by WaBetaInfo, means WhatsApp users do not require external tools or specific design skills in order to create stickers. They will simply need to enter a text-based command in order for the stickers to be generated, similar to image generator tools like Midjourney and OpenAI’s Dall-E. “AI stickers are generated using a secure technology offered by Meta,” the WhatsApp news site noted. “It’s important to note that this feature is optional and those AI stickers are easily recognisable. This means that the recipient may understand when a sticker has been generated by the AI technology from Meta.” The Independent has reached out to Meta for more information about WhatsApp’s latest AI tool, though the company typically does not comment on features before they are released publicly. Currently only Android users signed up to WhatsApp’s Google Play Beta Program have access to the custom sticker creator tool. Read More WhatsApp update: App finally launches new way to transfer chat history, fixing major security issue

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