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On Wednesday, the Bay Collective group announced the hiring of Van Ginhoven, the English national team's general manager working with Sarina Wiegman, as their director of global women’s football operations. The new multi-club ownership body, with San Francisco’s Bay FC as its initial addition in its portfolio, has previously engaged in recruiting from the Football Association.

The hiring earlier this year of Cossington, the prominent previous technical director at the Football Association, to the CEO role acted as a demonstration of ambition from the collective. She understands female football comprehensively and currently she has assembled a management group that possesses extensive knowledge of women’s football history and packed with professional background.

She is the third central staffer of Wiegman’s setup to leave recently, with the chief executive leaving prior to the Euros and assistant coach, Veurink, leaving to assume the position of manager of Holland, however Van Ginhoven's choice was made earlier.

Leaving was a surprising shift, yet “I’d taken my decision to exit the national setup quite a long time ago”, she explains. “I had a contract for four years, exactly like Veurink and Wiegman had. As they re-signed, I had expressed I wasn't sure about renewing myself. I was already used to the notion that post-Euros I wouldn’t be part of England any more.”

The Euros turned into an emotional event because of this. “It's sharp in my memory, discussing with the head coach where I basically told her regarding my plans and we then remarked: ‘There’s just one dream, how amazing would it be if we were to win the European Championship?’ In life, dreams don't dreams come true often however, against the odds, it actually happened.”

Wearing a Netherlands-colored shirt, Van Ginhoven has divided loyalties after her time in England, where she helped achieve winning back-to-back European titles and was a part of the manager's team when the Netherlands won in the 2017 European Championship.

“The national team will forever have an emotional connection for me. Therefore, it will be difficult, especially with the knowledge that the team are due to arrive for national team duty shortly,” she says. “When England plays the Netherlands, who do I support? Right now I'm in Dutch colors, but tomorrow I'll be in white.”

A speedboat allows for rapid direction changes. In a lean group like this one, that’s easily done.

The American side was not in the plans as the management specialist determined that a new chapter was needed, however the opportunity arose opportunely. The chief executive began assembling the team and mutual beliefs proved essential.

“Virtually from the start we got together we felt immediate synergy,” remarks Van Ginhoven. “You’re immediately on the same level. We've discussed extensively on various topics concerning growing the sport and what we think is the right way.”

These executives are not alone to make a move from high-profile jobs within European football for a blank sheet of paper across the Atlantic. Atlético Madrid’s women’s technical director, Patricia González, has been unveiled as Bay Collective’s global sporting director.

“I was highly interested in the deep faith regarding the strength within the female sport,” González says. “I'm familiar with Cossington for an extended period; back when I was with Fifa, she held the technical director role for England, and such choices are straightforward when you are aware you are going to be surrounded by individuals who motivate you.”

The depth of knowledge in their team makes them unique, notes she, with Bay Collective one of several new multi-club initiatives which have emerged in recent years. “It's a standout feature of our approach. Various methods are valid, however we strongly feel in ensuring deep football understanding,” she adds. “All three of us have been on a journey in female football, throughout our careers.”

As their website states, the goal for the collective is to champion and pioneer a forward-thinking and durable system for women's football clubs, built on proven methods for the diverse needs of female athletes. Doing that, with everyone on the same page, eliminating the need for persuasion for why you would take certain actions, provides great freedom.

“I liken it to moving from a large ship to a fast boat,” says she. “You are essentially navigating in uncharted waters – that’s a Dutch saying, not sure how it comes across – and you just need to rely on your own knowledge and expertise for making correct choices. You can change direction and move quickly with a speedboat. In a lean group like this, that’s easily done.”

She continues: “With this opportunity, we have a completely white sheet of paper to build upon. Personally, our work involves shaping the sport on a much broader level and that white paper permits you to undertake whatever you want, within the rules of the game. That is the advantage of our collective project.”

The aspirations are significant, those in leading roles are voicing opinions the football community want to hear and it will be compelling to monitor the progress of this organization, Bay FC and other teams that may join.

To get a sense of future plans, what factors are essential of a high-performance environment? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve