PFA Chief Executive Gordon Taylor has applauded Football League proposals to introduce a 'home-grown players' quota from the start of next season.
The concept will be considered in a meeting at Derby's Pride Park ground on December 18.
The quota would require clubs to include at least four players 'registered domestically for a minimum of three seasons prior to their 21st birthday' in their 16-man match-day squads.
Gordon met with FL officials yesterday, and says: "It is a welcome step forward, but I would hope it is only the first of many. The importance of developing young players cannot be under-estimated.
"The initial aim is to have at least four homegrown players in a 16-man squad but a more long-term aim should be to have four on the pitch. The Football League continues to support and promote youth development programmes, and we all welcome that.
"This is a positive step in the right direction and it is important that football clubs are encouraged to develop their own players. There is still some way to go, but the signs are good."
Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney said: "We believe it is time for the Football League to make a clear and unequivocal statement of intent about the importance of developing young players in the domestic game."
He added: "The aim is to establish this principle by setting a threshold that our clubs can accommodate and then to consider raising that level over time. It is important we demonstrate that, as a body of clubs, our commitment to youth development is total.
"Therefore, not only are we pulling out all the stops to develop these young players in the first place, we are also ensuring that they have the opportunity to show their talent in the first team.
"Fourteen of the 23-man England squad that beat Germany in Berlin last week were developed by youth development programmes at Football League clubs. Looking ahead, we want to increase that proportion even further."
Gordon agrees with that and says: "The likes of Theo Walcott, Micah Richards and Curtis Davies have come up through the ranks to the highest level and they, and others, are shining examples of what can be achieved."
The proposal has been put forward by the League's board of directors and mirrors that of UEFA, rather than the more controversial 'six-plus-five' policy championed by world governing body FIFA.
A statement released by the Football League announcing the news said: "The board has concerns over the legality of the latter (FIFA's six-plus-five proposal) in European law. This means that players will be considered as 'home grown' regardless of their nationality."
