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This past Wednesday, the Bay Collective group disclosed the hiring of Anja van Ginhoven, England's general manager under Sarina Wiegman, as their director of global women’s football operations. The new multi-team ownership group, with the San Francisco-based Bay FC as its initial addition among its holdings, has prior experience in recruiting from the English FA.

The hiring earlier this year of Cossington, the prominent former FA technical director, as top executive acted as a signal of intent from the collective. She knows female football thoroughly and now has put together an executive team that possesses extensive knowledge of the evolution of the women's game and filled with experience.

She marks the third central staffer of Wiegman’s setup to exit in the current year, with Cossington departing before the European Championships and deputy manager, Veurink, leaving to take up the role of head coach of the Dutch national team, but Van Ginhoven's choice was made earlier.

Leaving was a surprising shift, but “I’d taken my decision to exit the national setup well in advance”, Van Ginhoven explains. “I had a contract for four years, similar to Veurink and Wiegman did. As they re-signed, I had already said I didn’t know about renewing myself. I had accepted the notion that following the tournament I would no longer be involved with the national team.”

The Euros was a sentimental tournament because of this. “I remember very clearly, vividly, having a conversation with Sarina in which I informed her regarding my plans and then we said: ‘There’s just one dream, how incredible it would be if we were to win the European Championship?’ In life, it's rare that hopes materialize every day however, against the odds, ours came true.”

Sitting in an orange T-shirt, she experiences split allegiances following her stint working in England, where she was part of securing consecutive European championships and worked within the manager's team when the Netherlands won in the 2017 European Championship.

“England will forever have an emotional connection for me. So, it’s going to be tough, especially with the knowledge that the players are due to arrive for the upcoming fixtures in the near future,” she comments. “Whenever the two nations face off, which side do I back? Right now I'm in Dutch colors, but tomorrow it’s 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 in the plans when the organisational wizard determined that it was time for a change, but the opportunity arose at the right time. The chief executive began assembling the team and common principles were crucial.

“Almost from the very first moment we met we experienced an instant connection,” says she. “We were instantly aligned. Our conversations have been thorough about different things concerning growing the sport and our shared vision for the right approach.”

The two leaders are not the only figures to uproot themselves from high-profile jobs in the European game for a fresh start across the Atlantic. The Spanish club's technical director for women's football, Patricia González, has been announced as the group's worldwide sports director.

“I was very attracted in the deep faith of the power of women's football,” González says. “I have known Kay Cossington for a long time; when I used to work at Fifa, she was the technical director of England, and such choices are straightforward when you know you will have around you individuals who motivate you.”

The extensive expertise in their team sets them apart, says she, for the collective among a number fresh club ownership ventures which have emerged in recent years. “That’s one of our unique selling points. It’s OK that people do things in different ways, however we strongly feel in incorporating football expertise,” she says. “Each of us have progressed in female football, for most of our lives.”

According to their online statement, the goal of Bay Collective is to advocate and innovate a forward-thinking and durable system for women's football clubs, built on proven methods to meet the varied requirements of female athletes. Doing that, with everyone on the same page, eliminating the need for persuasion regarding certain decisions, is incredibly freeing.

“I equate it to transitioning from a tanker to a speedboat,” remarks she. “You're journeying across unmapped territories – a common Dutch expression, I'm unsure if it translates well – and you must depend on your own knowledge and expertise to make the right decision. Adjusting course and speeding up is possible in a speedboat. Within a compact team such as ours, it's straightforward to accomplish.”

González adds: “In this role, we begin with a clean canvas to work from. For me, our work focuses on impacting football on a much broader level and that white paper allows you to do anything you desire, adhering to football's guidelines. That’s the beauty of our joint endeavor.”

The aspirations are significant, the executives are saying the things athletes and supporters are eager to hear and it will be fascinating to observe the evolution of the collective, the club and any clubs added to the portfolio.

For a flavour of what is to come, what factors are essential for a top-level environment? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve