Also attending the meeting in Amsterdam were PSA chief commercial officer Tommy Berden and WSF vice-president Gar Holohan and chief executive Andrew Shelley.

All agreed that a "strategic alliance" is of paramount importance if squash is to continue advancing in the global sporting field.

"In order for squash to achieve greater visibility and profile around the world it is vital that there is a strong working partnership between the WSF and PSA," said Fontaine.

"The intention of the WSF Board and myself is to provide strong and vibrant leadership and we look forward to building upon our relationship with the PSA and working closely with our foremost partner as we seek to improve every element of squash from grass roots to world championships.

"This opportunity for us to meet to plan together for our future has been a valuable one."

The strategic partnership, which is set to be agreed in detail in the coming months, will focus on creating a joint vision for squash at all levels.

It is hoped this will enable the sport to create a more stable and successful platform from which to market itself around the world.

Ensuring the sport's successful integration into future Olympic Games, creating a centrally-unified refereeing structure and expanding of the sport's commercial and broadcast arms are all considered elements which will be fundamental to the success of the partnership.

"In recent years the Professional Tour has made enormous strides as it has led the way in both broadcasting and presentation whilst squash has grown in participation levels and public interest," said Gough.

"In order to fully utilise this momentum and to achieve our Olympic ambitions it is important that the PSA and WSF work together, taking all opportunities whilst also addressing any issues and threats to the sport to get the very best outcome for squash.

"We were pleased to meet with Jacques and his team and have been hugely encouraged by the conversations and look forward to fostering a new, stronger relationship with the WSF as we embark upon the next step in the sport's journey."

Squash was not among the five sports recommended by Tokyo 2020 to be added to the Olympics last year and was overlooked in favour of baseball and softball, karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing.

All five were added to the Tokyo 2020 programme in August.

It followed previous failures by the WSF to be added to the programme for London 2012 and Rio 2016.

An independent review commissioned by the WSF in July recommended the development of a multi-year strategic plan for the sport of squash jointly with the PSA, Regional Federations and WSF members, including a detailed analysis of functions delivered by each organisation and an assessment of whether changes are needed.

It also stated that the arrangement between the WSF and PSA should be formalised with an MoU or similar, which would specify in which WSF bodies the PSA is represented.

Confirmation of the independent review being commissioned came after an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) was held in London earlier last year.

The EGM debated a number of proposals put forward by a Global Task Force comprising a number of Member Federations set-up at the WSF Annual Meeting in Nice in November 2015.

At that meeting, Gough and PSA chairman Ziad Al-Turki challenged the WSF leadership on a number of issues, including accountability for the latest failed Olympic bid.