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This past Wednesday, Bay Collective revealed the recruitment of Van Ginhoven, the English national team's general manager under head coach Sarina Wiegman, to serve as their global women's football operations director. This new collective club ownership initiative, which includes the San Francisco-based Bay FC as its first club within its group, has a history in hiring individuals from the Football Association.

The selection in recent months of Kay Cossington, the well-respected ex-technical director for the FA, to the CEO role acted as a signal of intent from Bay Collective. Cossington is deeply familiar with the women's game inside out and currently has put together a leadership team that possesses extensive knowledge of the evolution of the women's game and laden with professional background.

She is the third central staffer of Wiegman’s setup to depart this year, with the chief executive departing prior to the European Championships and assistant coach, Arjan Veurink, moving on to take up the role of head manager of the Netherlands, however her move arrived more quickly.

Stepping away has been a shock to the system, but “I had decided to leave the FA well in advance”, she says. “My agreement lasting four years, just as the assistant and head coach had. When they renewed, I had already said I wasn't sure about renewing myself. I had accepted the thought that after the European Championship I wouldn’t be part of England any more.”

The Euros turned into an emotional tournament as a result. “It's sharp in my memory, speaking with Sarina when I disclosed about my decision and after which we agreed: ‘We share a single dream, how incredible it would be that we win the Euros?’ In reality, dreams don't aspirations are realized every day yet, against the odds, it actually happened.”

Dressed in orange, she holds dual affections after her time in England, where she helped achieve claiming two Euros in a row and was a part of Wiegman’s staff for the Netherlands’ triumph at Euro 2017.

“The national team will always hold a dear spot in my heart. So, it will be difficult, especially with the knowledge that the players are due to arrive for national team duty in the near future,” she comments. “In matches between England and the Netherlands, who do I support? I’m wearing orange at the moment, but tomorrow I'll be in white.”

In a speedboat, you can pivot and accelerate swiftly. In a small team like this, that is simple to achieve.

The American side was not in the plans as the management specialist was deciding that a new chapter was needed, but everything aligned at the right time. Cossington began assembling the team and mutual beliefs were key.

“Essentially upon meeting we got together we had that click moment,” remarks she. “You’re immediately on the same level. Our conversations have been thorough about different things concerning growing the sport and the methods we believe are correct.”

These executives are among several to make a move from prominent roles in the European game for an uncharted opportunity in the US. The Spanish club's female football technical lead, González, has been unveiled as Bay Collective’s worldwide sports director.

“I was very attracted to that strong belief in the potential of women's football,” she comments. “I'm familiar with Cossington for many years; when I used to work at Fifa, she held the technical director role for England, and such choices are straightforward when you know you are going to be surrounded by colleagues who drive you.”

The depth of knowledge among their staff makes them unique, notes Van Ginhoven, for the collective one of several new multi-club initiatives which have emerged in recent years. “This is a key differentiator for us. Different approaches are acceptable, but we definitely believe in incorporating football expertise,” she states. “All three of us have progressed in women’s football, for most of our lives.”

According to their online statement, the ambition of this group is to support and lead an advanced and lasting environment for women's football clubs, founded on effective practices for the diverse needs of female athletes. Succeeding in this, with unified understanding, eliminating the need for persuasion for specific initiatives, is hugely liberating.

“I compare it with transitioning from a tanker to a speedboat,” states Van Ginhoven. “You're journeying across unmapped territories – that’s a Dutch saying, I'm unsure if it translates well – and you must depend on your personal insight and skills for making correct choices. You can pivot and accelerate rapidly in a speedboat. In a lean group like this, that’s easily done.”

She continues: “Here, we have a completely white sheet of paper to work from. For me, what we do is about influencing the game more extensively and that clean start permits you to undertake anything you desire, following the sport's regulations. This is the appeal of what we are building together.”

Their goals are lofty, the executives are saying the things players and fans want to hear and it will be compelling to observe the evolution of this organization, the club and future additions to the group.

For a flavour of what is to come, which elements are crucial of a high-performance environment? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve