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This past Wednesday, this new ownership entity revealed the appointment of Van Ginhoven, the English national team's general manager under Sarina Wiegman, as their director of global women’s football operations. The new collective club ownership initiative, with the San Francisco-based Bay FC as its first club within its group, has a history in hiring individuals from the national football governing body.

The hiring earlier this year of Kay Cossington, the well-respected ex-technical director for the FA, as top executive was a demonstration of ambition by this organization. She is deeply familiar with the women's game thoroughly and currently has put together a management group with a deep understanding of the evolution of the women's game and filled with experience.

She marks the third key figure of Wiegman’s setup to exit this year, with Cossington departing prior to the European Championships and assistant coach, Veurink, moving on to take up the role of head coach of the Netherlands, however her move arrived more quickly.

Stepping away was a surprising shift, but “My choice was made to exit the national setup well in advance”, Van Ginhoven states. “The terms covering four years, similar to the assistant and head coach had. Upon their extension, I had expressed I was uncertain whether I would. I had accepted the notion that after the European Championship I would no longer be involved with the national team.”

The Euros turned into an emotional competition due to that. “It's sharp in my memory, speaking with Wiegman in which I informed her about my decision and then we said: ‘Our ultimate aspiration, what a triumph it would represent if we were to win the European Championship?’ Generally, it’s not like hopes materialize every day but, remarkably, it actually happened.”

Sitting in an orange T-shirt, she has divided loyalties after her time working in England, where she helped achieve claiming two Euros in a row and worked within Wiegman’s staff during the Dutch victory in the 2017 European Championship.

“The national team will always hold a special place in my heart. So, it will be difficult, notably since that the squad are due to arrive for the international camp soon,” she comments. “Whenever the two nations face off, who do I support? Today I have on orange, though tomorrow English white.”

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

Bay FC was not in the plans when the management specialist determined that a new chapter was needed, but the opportunity arose perfectly. Cossington started to bring people in and mutual beliefs were crucial.

“Almost from the very first moment we met we felt immediate synergy,” remarks she. “There was immediate understanding. Our conversations have been thorough about different things related to developing women's football and what we think is the right way.”

Cossington and Van Ginhoven are not the only figures to uproot themselves from well-known positions within European football for a fresh start across the Atlantic. The Spanish club's female football technical lead, González, has been introduced as the organization's worldwide sports director.

“I felt strongly drawn in the deep faith of the power of the women’s game,” she says. “I'm familiar with Cossington for a long time; 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 colleagues who drive you.”

The depth of knowledge within their group distinguishes them, explains Van Ginhoven, with Bay Collective among a number new multi-club initiatives to launch in recent years. “That’s one of our unique selling points. Various methods are valid, but we definitely believe in ensuring deep football understanding,” she says. “Each of us have traveled a path in women’s football, probably for the best part of our lives.”

As outlined on their site, the goal for the collective is to champion and pioneer a progressive and sustainable ecosystem of women’s football clubs, based on what works addressing the different demands of female athletes. Doing that, with everyone on the same page, with no need to make the case regarding certain decisions, is hugely liberating.

“I liken it to transitioning from a tanker to a speedboat,” states Van Ginhoven. “You're journeying across unmapped territories – as we say in the Netherlands, I don’t know if it translates – and it's necessary to trust your own knowledge and expertise to make the right decision. You can pivot and accelerate rapidly in a speedboat. In a small team like this, that’s easily done.”

González continues: “Here, we start with a blank slate to start with. For me, our mission focuses on impacting football on a wider scale and that white paper enables you to pursue whatever you want, following the sport's regulations. This is the appeal of our collective project.”

Their goals are lofty, the management are expressing sentiments the football community are eager to hear and it will be compelling to monitor the progress of this organization, the club and any clubs added to the portfolio.

As a preview of upcoming developments, which elements are crucial in a high-performance setting? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve