Club England Managing Dir Adrian Bevington believes it is “embarrassing” that Chris Powell is the only black manager in the Football League "and has called on the FA to generate more opportunities for ethnic minorities." Powell "took charge at Huddersfield Town last week but his appointment only served to highlight the lack of diversity in the top four divisions of English football." Bevington said, "I think for the game it’s embarrassing that we have only Chris Powell as the only black manager in the four divisions" (PA, 9/7). ... The players' union will conduct inspections of every A-League club's facilities after a 30% spike "was recorded in the number of games missed through injury last season." In its injury report for the '13-14 season released on Monday, the Professional Footballers Australia found that "while the total number of injuries suffered remained the same as the previous campaign, there was a whopping 704 games missed through injury," up almost 30% from the season prior (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 9/8). ... African champions Nigeria "look to have avoided an international ban as a row over the leadership of its football federation seems to have ended." Chris Giwa looks to have given up his claim to be Nigeria Football Federation president "in a move that coincides with a deadline" set by FIFA (BBC, 9/8).
