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Midweek, Bay Collective disclosed the recruitment of Van Ginhoven, England's managerial lead working with Sarina Wiegman, to serve as their director of global women’s football operations. The new collective club ownership initiative, which includes the San Francisco-based Bay FC as its initial addition within its group, has previously engaged in bringing in talent from the national football governing body.

The appointment this year of Cossington, the prominent previous technical director at the Football Association, as the chief executive was a clear statement by Bay Collective. She understands the women's game inside out and now has gathered a management group that possesses extensive knowledge of the history of women's football and laden with experience.

Van Ginhoven marks the third core member of Wiegman's coaching team to exit recently, with Cossington exiting prior to the European Championships and the assistant manager, Arjan Veurink, moving on to assume the position of head manager of the Dutch national team, but her decision was made earlier.

Leaving was a surprising shift, but “I’d taken my decision to leave the FA quite a long time ago”, Van Ginhoven says. “I had a contract lasting four years, exactly like the assistant and head coach had. When they renewed, I had expressed I wasn't sure whether I would. I had grown accustomed to the whole idea that following the tournament my time with England would end.”

The Euros was a deeply felt competition due to that. “I recall distinctly, speaking with the head coach when I disclosed of my choice and after which we agreed: ‘We share a single dream, how incredible it would be that we win the Euros?’ Generally, it's rare that dreams come true frequently but, absolutely incredibly, it actually happened.”

Sitting in an orange T-shirt, she experiences split allegiances following her stint in England, during which she contributed to winning back-to-back European titles and worked within the coaching setup for the Netherlands’ triumph at Euro 2017.

“England retains an emotional connection for me. Therefore, it will be difficult, especially with the knowledge that the team are scheduled to come for the international camp in the near future,” she comments. “In matches between England and the Netherlands, where do my loyalties lie? I’m wearing orange at the moment, but tomorrow it’s white.”

A speedboat allows for rapid direction changes. In a small team like this, it's effortless to accomplish.

The American side was not initially considered when the organisational wizard was deciding it was time to move on, however the pieces fell into place opportunely. Cossington initiated the recruitment and their shared values proved essential.

“Almost from the very first moment we got together we experienced an instant connection,” remarks Van Ginhoven. “You’re immediately on the same level. We've discussed extensively regarding multiple aspects around how you grow the game and our shared vision for the right approach.”

These executives are among several to uproot themselves from prominent roles within European football for a blank sheet of paper in the US. The Spanish club's female football technical lead, Patricia González, has been announced as Bay Collective’s global sporting director.

“I was highly interested by the firm conviction in the potential of the women’s game,” González explains. “I have known Kay Cossington for a long time; when I used to work at Fifa, she was the technical director of England, and it’s easy to make these decisions when you are aware you are going to be surrounded by individuals who motivate you.”

The depth of knowledge in their team distinguishes them, explains Van Ginhoven, for the collective one of several new multi-club initiatives that have started lately. “This is a key differentiator for us. Different approaches are acceptable, but we are firm in our belief in having that football knowledge on board,” she states. “All three of us have progressed in female football, throughout our careers.”

According to their online statement, the ambition for the collective is to champion and pioneer a forward-thinking and durable system within female football clubs, based on what works addressing the different demands of women. Succeeding in this, with unified understanding, without having to justify actions for why you would take certain actions, is hugely liberating.

“I compare it with going from a tanker to a speedboat,” states Van Ginhoven. “You're journeying in uncharted waters – as we say in the Netherlands, I'm unsure if it translates well – and it's necessary to trust your individual understanding and experience to make the right decision. You can pivot and accelerate rapidly with a speedboat. Within a compact team such as ours, that’s easily done.”

González notes: “Here, we have a completely white sheet of paper to build upon. In my view, our work focuses on impacting football on a much broader level and that clean start permits you to undertake anything you desire, within the rules of the game. That’s the beauty of our collective project.”

The ambition is high, those in leading roles are expressing sentiments the football community are eager to hear and it will be fascinating to monitor the progress of this organization, Bay FC and any clubs added to the portfolio.

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