Greg Dyke's planned reforms at the Football Association will go before the organisation's 123-strong council on Wednesday.
The outgoing FA chairman is proposing a series of measures to make the council more modern and representative of the wider football community.
Sky Sports News HQ understands councillors are keen to learn more about Dyke's proposals and are not scared of change but have to be convinced any alterations will be for the good of the game in the long run.
The governance reform has the approval of the FA board, but four of 12 board members voted against and Dyke has acknowledged "it is going to be a fight to get through council."
Among the proposals is a limit on the numbers of years a council member can serve: one current member has been in situ since the 1960s and Dyke wants a maximum of three three-year terms.
The average age of members is mid-60s and of the 123 just six are women and four from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.
Councillors maintain they are not simply trying to look after their own positions and it is understood a fair number of them are unimpressed with how Dyke has tried to 'railroad' his way through the process.
Their belief is the 'scattergun' approach he has adopted has upset many and while they feel the professional game looks after itself, they say the game needs their protection at grassroots level.
One told us: "The number of tickets we receive is not the issue. There are more unpaid volunteers in football than there are paid.
"Tickets for England and FA Cup games get passed on to the counties and provide a small way of rewarding those at grassroots level who give their time for free."
Another added: "We don't go about shouting from the rooftops about the hard work we put in. We get called the blazers yet we're all putting our heart and soul into the game."
Speaking to Sky Sports News HQ, Dyke, who will step down in the summer rather than stand for a further year, said: "It will not be that big a day for the FA as no decisions will be made today.
"What's happened is that the board has come up with proposals for change, council are now going to discuss them and the board will go back and discuss what the council has said. So this isn't the day it will all be decided.
"What the board wants to achieve is to change the make-up of the council particularly so that it more accurately reflects society in the second decade of the 21st century."