Football
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FA council backs governance reforms ahead of annual general meeting

Members of the Football Association (FA) council have unanimously backed the governance reforms proposed by the board, the organisation has confirmed.

The vote was held after a meeting at Wembley, and the plans now go forward to the FA's annual general meeting on May 18, where they will need a 75 percent majority for approval.

The reforms are a response to government pressure and, if they meet shareholder approval, will represent a major triumph for FA chairman Greg Clarke and sports minister Tracey Crouch.

Press Association Sport reported that the FA is understood to consider Monday's vote as a significant step in the process to complying with Crouch's sports governance code, which came into force on Saturday.

The provisions of the code were announced last October, and all national governing bodies in receipt of public funding -- either for elite or grassroots sport, or both -- must comply with them by Oct. 31 this year.

The threat of losing millions of pounds of National Lottery and exchequer funding for grassroots projects from Sport England has pressured the FA to make its governance structure more accountable, diverse and streamlined.

In February, the House of Commons passed a "no confidence" vote in the FA's ability to reform itself.

Clarke, who replaced Greg Dyke in August, has promised to quit if he fails to get the reforms over the line.

With Crouch demanding that women make up at least 30 percent of governing body boards, more diversity in general and for boards to take the lead in decision-making, the FA's proposals are the most radical it has considered since the formation of the Premier League in 1992.

They will see the board reduced from 12 members to 10, with three of those positions reserved for women by 2018, and board members restricted to three three-year terms.

Dame Heather Rabbatts is the only woman on the current board.

The reduced board will consist of the chairman, the FA chief executive, two independents and three representatives each from the amateur and professional games.

There will also be changes to the council, football's so-called parliament, with 11 new members added to better reflect what the FA has described as "the inclusive and diverse nature of English football."

Term limits will also be introduced, with three three-year stints again likely to be the maximum allowed.

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