The UK’s Football Association (FA) has agreed corporate governance reforms, which will ensure that three seats on its board are reserved for women.

Under the chairmanship of Greg Clarke, the FA’s board will also be streamlined from 12 to ten members.

Term limits have also been set for board members.

The move comes after sports minister Tracey Crouch introduced a new governance code for sport. Any sport seeking public money for grassroots development must comply with the code.

The FA received £30m from Sport England between 2013 and 2017.

Crouch told the Press Association: “I’m absolutely delighted the FA has understood the importance of good governance and implemented these reforms.

“And I pay tribute to Greg Clarke for making it clear that the FA is committed to complying with the new governance code. We want to set the gold standard for governance in sport around the world and this is a good start in setting out that position.”

Clarke said the changes “represent huge progress and, if approved following consultation, will ensure that the FA is meeting the requirements of UK sport governance best practice. I believe they are in the interests of all of English football and will make our game better.

“From FIFA downwards, we are rightly seeing a drive for good governance in football. These reforms are a significant step forward in making the leadership of football more inclusive and representative. They will ensure greater independence and diversity into our decision making structures and therefore improve our game.”