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On Wednesday, the Bay Collective group disclosed the appointment of Van Ginhoven, the English national team's general manager under head coach Sarina Wiegman, as their overseer of worldwide women's football activities. This freshly established multi-club ownership body, with the San Francisco-based Bay FC as its first club in its portfolio, has prior experience in hiring individuals from the national football governing body.

The selection this year of Cossington, the prominent former FA technical director, to the CEO role acted as a signal of intent by Bay Collective. Cossington knows women’s football thoroughly and now has gathered a management group with a deep understanding of women’s football history and packed with professional background.

Van Ginhoven becomes the third key figure of Wiegman’s setup to leave in the current year, with the chief executive exiting before the European Championships and assistant coach, Veurink, moving on to assume the position of manager of Holland, however her move was made earlier.

Stepping away has been a surprising shift, but “My choice was made to depart the Football Association some time back”, she says. “I had a contract covering four years, just as Veurink and Wiegman had. When they renewed, I had expressed I didn’t know whether I would. I had accepted the whole idea that after the European Championship I would no longer be involved with the national team.”

The tournament became a sentimental competition because of this. “It's sharp in my memory, having a conversation with Sarina when I disclosed regarding my plans and after which we agreed: ‘There’s just one dream, how amazing would it be to clinch the European title?’ Generally, it's rare that hopes materialize frequently however, remarkably, this one did.”

Dressed in orange, she holds dual affections following her stint with the English team, where she helped achieve winning back-to-back European titles and was a part of the coaching setup during the Dutch victory the 2017 Euros.

“England will forever have an emotional connection for me. Therefore, it will be challenging, notably since that the players are due to arrive for national team duty in the near future,” she notes. “In matches between England and the Netherlands, who do I support? Right now I'm in Dutch colors, but tomorrow I'll be in white.”

You can change direction and move quickly in a speedboat. With a compact team such as ours, it's effortless to accomplish.

The club was not initially considered when the organisational wizard determined it was time to move on, however the opportunity arose opportunely. Cossington initiated the recruitment and mutual beliefs were key.

“Virtually from the start we met we felt immediate synergy,” says she. “There was immediate understanding. Our conversations have been thorough regarding multiple aspects concerning growing the sport and the methods we believe are correct.”

Cossington and Van Ginhoven are among several to uproot themselves from high-profile jobs in the European game for a blank sheet of paper across the Atlantic. Atlético Madrid’s women’s technical director, González, has been unveiled as the group's global sporting director.

“I felt strongly drawn to that strong belief of the power within the female sport,” she says. “I've been acquainted with Kay Cossington for a long time; when I used to work at Fifa, she held the technical director role for England, and such choices are straightforward when you are aware you'll be working alongside people who really inspire you.”

The extensive expertise within their group distinguishes them, explains Van Ginhoven, for the collective part of a group fresh club ownership ventures that have started over the past few years. “It's a standout feature of our approach. Different approaches are acceptable, but we are firm in our belief in ensuring deep football understanding,” she adds. “Each of us have progressed in female football, throughout our careers.”

As outlined on their site, the ambition of Bay Collective is to support and lead an advanced and lasting environment for women's football clubs, founded on effective practices to meet the varied requirements of female athletes. Succeeding in this, with everyone on the same page, without having to justify actions regarding certain decisions, is hugely liberating.

“I liken it to moving from a large ship to a fast boat,” remarks Van Ginhoven. “You're journeying through waters that there are no roadmaps for – as we say in the Netherlands, not sure how it comes across – and it's necessary to trust your own knowledge and expertise to make the right decision. You can change direction and move quickly with a speedboat. Within a compact team such as ours, that is simple to achieve.”

She continues: “Here, we start with a blank slate to build upon. Personally, our work focuses on impacting football more extensively and that white paper allows you to do any direction you choose, adhering to football's guidelines. That is the advantage of our joint endeavor.”

The aspirations are significant, the executives are expressing sentiments players and fans hope to hear and it will be fascinating to follow the development of this organization, the club and other teams that may join.

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