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Midweek, Bay Collective announced the recruitment of Van Ginhoven, the English national team's managerial lead working with Sarina Wiegman, to serve as their director of global women’s football operations. This freshly established multi-team ownership group, featuring Bay FC of San Francisco as the initial addition within its group, has prior experience in hiring individuals from the national football governing body.

The appointment earlier this year of Cossington, the well-respected ex-technical director for the FA, as the chief executive served as a signal of intent from the collective. Cossington understands women’s football inside out and currently has gathered an executive team with a deep understanding of women’s football history and packed with practical experience.

Van Ginhoven is the third key figure of the manager's inner circle to exit recently, following the chief executive leaving prior to the European Championships and the assistant manager, Veurink, moving on to assume the position of head coach of Holland, but her move arrived more quickly.

Moving on was a jarring experience, yet “I’d taken my decision to depart the Football Association quite a long time ago”, she says. “The terms for four years, exactly like Veurink and Wiegman had. As they re-signed, I previously indicated I was uncertain about renewing myself. I had accepted the notion that post-Euros I would no longer be involved with the national team.”

The Euros turned into an emotional tournament as a result. “I recall distinctly, having a conversation with the head coach in which I informed her about my decision and then we said: ‘We share a single dream, how incredible it would be if we were to win the European Championship?’ Generally, it's rare that hopes materialize every day yet, absolutely incredibly, ours came true.”

Wearing a Netherlands-colored shirt, she experiences split allegiances post her tenure with the English team, where she was part of securing consecutive European championships and worked within the coaching setup when the Netherlands won in the 2017 European Championship.

“England retains a dear spot in my heart. Therefore, it will be difficult, particularly now knowing that the squad will be arriving for the international camp soon,” she says. “In matches between England and the Netherlands, which side do I back? Today I have on orange, but tomorrow I'll be in white.”

You can change direction and move quickly in a speedboat. In a small team like this, that is simple to achieve.

The club was not initially considered as the organisational wizard determined that a new chapter was needed, but the opportunity arose opportunely. The chief executive began assembling the team and common principles proved essential.

“Virtually from the start we got together we had that click moment,” says Van Ginhoven. “There was immediate understanding. Our conversations have been thorough regarding multiple aspects related to developing women's football and the methods we believe are correct.”

Cossington and Van Ginhoven are not alone to make a move from high-profile jobs in the European game for a blank sheet of paper in the US. Atlético Madrid’s women’s technical director, González, has been introduced as the group's new global sporting director.

“I was highly interested in the deep faith regarding the strength of the women’s game,” González explains. “I'm familiar with Cossington for an extended period; when I used to work at Fifa, she held the technical director role for England, and decisions like this come naturally knowing you are going to be surrounded by colleagues who drive you.”

The extensive expertise in their team makes them unique, explains she, as Bay Collective among a number new multi-club initiatives which have emerged lately. “That’s one of our unique selling points. Different approaches are acceptable, however we strongly feel in ensuring deep football understanding,” she adds. “All three of us have been on a journey in female football, probably for the best part of our lives.”

As outlined on their site, the ambition for the collective is to support and lead a progressive and sustainable ecosystem of 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 regarding certain decisions, is incredibly freeing.

“I compare it with transitioning from a tanker to a speedboat,” states Van Ginhoven. “You are essentially navigating across unmapped territories – that’s a Dutch saying, not sure how it comes across – and it's necessary to trust your own knowledge and expertise to make the right decision. You can pivot and accelerate rapidly with a speedboat. In a lean group like this, that is simple to achieve.”

González continues: “Here, we have a completely white sheet of paper to work from. Personally, our work involves shaping the sport on a much broader level and that clean start enables you to pursue any direction you choose, following the sport's regulations. This is the appeal of our collective project.”

The aspirations are significant, the management are expressing sentiments players and fans are eager to hear and it will be compelling to monitor the progress of the collective, the club and other teams that may join.

To get a sense of future plans, what are the key aspects for a top-level environment? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve