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This past Wednesday, Bay Collective revealed the appointment of Anja van Ginhoven, England's managerial lead working with Sarina Wiegman, as their overseer of worldwide women's football activities. This freshly established multi-team ownership group, which includes Bay FC of San Francisco as the first club within its group, has previously engaged in recruiting from the Football Association.

The appointment earlier this year of Kay Cossington, the influential previous technical director at the Football Association, as top executive acted as a demonstration of ambition from this organization. Cossington is deeply familiar with the women's game thoroughly and now has gathered an executive team with profound insight of women’s football history and packed with practical experience.

Van Ginhoven is the third central staffer of Wiegman's coaching team to depart recently, with the chief executive leaving before the Euros and the assistant manager, Arjan Veurink, moving on to take up the role of head manager of the Netherlands, but her decision came sooner.

Stepping away was a shock to the system, but “I had decided to depart the Football Association quite a long time ago”, she states. “The terms for four years, similar to the assistant and head coach had. When they renewed, I had already said I didn’t know if I would do the same. I had grown accustomed to the thought that following the tournament my time with England would end.”

The European Championship was an emotional tournament as a result. “I recall distinctly, speaking with Sarina in which I informed her regarding my plans and then we said: ‘We share a single dream, how amazing would it be that we win the Euros?’ In reality, it’s not like aspirations are realized every day but, remarkably, it actually happened.”

Wearing a Netherlands-colored shirt, she has divided loyalties after her time in England, during which she contributed to claiming two Euros in a row and served on the manager's team during the Dutch victory in the 2017 European Championship.

“The national team will always hold 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 soon,” she says. “In matches between England and the Netherlands, which side do I back? I’m wearing orange at the moment, 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 American side was not in the plans when the organisational wizard determined that a new chapter was needed, but the pieces fell into place at the right time. Cossington started to bring people in and common principles proved essential.

“Almost from the very first moment we connected we felt immediate synergy,” states Van Ginhoven. “You’re immediately on the same level. Our conversations have been thorough regarding multiple aspects related to developing women's football and the methods we believe are correct.”

These executives are among several to make a move from prominent roles within European football for an uncharted opportunity in the United States. Atlético Madrid’s women’s technical director, González, has been introduced as the group's global sporting director.

“I felt strongly drawn to that strong belief of the power of the women’s game,” González says. “I have known Kay Cossington for an extended period; back when I was with Fifa, she served as England's technical director, and such choices are straightforward when you are aware you are going to be surrounded by people who really inspire you.”

The profound understanding within their group sets them apart, notes she, for the collective one of several fresh club ownership ventures that have started over the past few years. “This is a key differentiator for us. It’s OK that people do things in different ways, but we definitely believe in having that football knowledge on board,” she states. “Each of us have been on a journey in women’s football, throughout our careers.”

As their website states, the goal of Bay Collective is to support and lead a progressive and sustainable ecosystem for women's football clubs, founded on effective practices addressing the different demands of women. Doing that, with collective agreement, eliminating the need for persuasion regarding certain decisions, is incredibly freeing.

“I compare it with moving from a large ship to a fast boat,” says Van Ginhoven. “You are essentially navigating across unmapped territories – that’s a Dutch saying, 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. In a small team like this, that’s easily done.”

She notes: “In this role, we start with a blank slate to work from. In my view, our work is about influencing the game on a much broader level and that white paper allows you to do any direction you choose, adhering to football's guidelines. This is the appeal of what we are building together.”

The aspirations are significant, the executives are voicing opinions players and fans want to hear and it will be interesting to follow the development of the collective, the club and future additions to the group.

For a flavour of what is to come, what are the key aspects of a high-performance environment? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve