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This past Wednesday, Bay Collective disclosed the recruitment of Anja van Ginhoven, England's managerial lead working with Sarina Wiegman, as their global women's football operations director. This new collective club ownership initiative, with Bay FC of San Francisco as the inaugural team among its holdings, has previously engaged in hiring individuals from the national football governing body.

The selection this year of Kay Cossington, the influential ex-technical director for the FA, as top executive was a demonstration of ambition from Bay Collective. She understands female football comprehensively and currently has gathered a leadership team with a deep understanding of the history of women's football and laden with experience.

Van Ginhoven becomes the third core member of Wiegman’s setup to leave in the current year, with the chief executive leaving prior to the Euros and assistant coach, Veurink, stepping down to become manager of the Netherlands, however her move arrived more quickly.

Stepping away was a jarring experience, but “My choice was made to exit the national setup some time back”, Van Ginhoven states. “The terms covering four years, just as the assistant and head coach had. Upon their extension, I had expressed I didn’t know about renewing myself. I was already used to the whole idea that after the European Championship my time with England would end.”

The Euros became an emotional competition due to that. “I remember very clearly, vividly, having a conversation with the head coach when I disclosed of my choice and then we said: ‘Our ultimate aspiration, how amazing would it be that we win the Euros?’ In life, dreams don't aspirations are realized often but, remarkably, it actually happened.”

Wearing a Netherlands-colored shirt, Van Ginhoven has divided loyalties after her time with the English team, where she was part of winning back-to-back European titles and worked within Wiegman’s staff for the Netherlands’ triumph at Euro 2017.

“England retains a special place in my heart. Therefore, it’s going to be tough, particularly now knowing that the team are due to arrive for national team duty in the near future,” she says. “When England plays the Netherlands, who do I support? Today I have on orange, but tomorrow I'll be in white.”

In a speedboat, you can pivot and accelerate swiftly. In a lean group like this one, it's effortless to accomplish.

The club was not in the plans as the management specialist was deciding that it was time for a change, however the pieces fell into place perfectly. The chief executive started to bring people in and their shared values proved essential.

“Almost from the very first moment we got together we felt immediate synergy,” remarks Van Ginhoven. “There was immediate understanding. Our conversations have been thorough on various topics concerning growing the sport and our shared vision for the right approach.”

Cossington and Van Ginhoven are not the only figures to make a move from prominent roles in Europe's football scene for a fresh start in the US. Atlético Madrid’s female football technical lead, Patricia González, has been unveiled as Bay Collective’s global sporting director.

“I felt strongly drawn by the firm conviction of the power of women's football,” González comments. “I'm familiar with Cossington for an extended period; back when I was with Fifa, she was the technical director of England, and it’s easy to make these decisions when you are aware you'll be working alongside people who really inspire you.”

The extensive expertise within their group distinguishes them, says she, for the collective among a number new multi-club initiatives which have emerged over the past few years. “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 says. “All three of us have traveled a path in women’s football, probably for the best part of our lives.”

As their website states, the goal of Bay Collective is to champion and pioneer a progressive and sustainable ecosystem of women’s football clubs, based on what works for the diverse needs of women in sport. Doing that, with everyone on the same page, without having to justify actions regarding certain decisions, provides great freedom.

“I equate it to going from a tanker to a speedboat,” says Van Ginhoven. “You're journeying across unmapped territories – a common Dutch expression, I'm unsure if it translates well – and you just need to rely on your own knowledge and expertise to make the right decision. You can change direction and move quickly using a speedboat. In a lean group like this, it's straightforward to accomplish.”

González notes: “With this opportunity, we start with a blank slate to work from. Personally, what we do focuses on impacting football more extensively and that blank slate enables you to pursue whatever you want, adhering to football's guidelines. That’s the beauty of our collective project.”

Their goals are lofty, the management are expressing sentiments the football community want to hear and it will be interesting to follow the development of the collective, the team and any clubs added to the portfolio.

For a flavour of what is to come, 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