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This past Wednesday, this new ownership entity announced the recruitment of Anja van Ginhoven, the English national team's managerial lead working with head coach Sarina Wiegman, as their overseer of worldwide women's football activities. This new multi-team ownership group, featuring Bay FC of San Francisco as its first club within its group, has previously engaged in recruiting from the national football governing body.

The appointment earlier this year of Cossington, the influential former FA technical director, as top executive acted as a signal of intent by Bay Collective. She is deeply familiar with women’s football inside out and now she has assembled a leadership team that possesses extensive knowledge of the history of women's football and laden with practical experience.

She marks the third key figure of Wiegman’s setup to exit this year, following Cossington departing prior to the Euros and the assistant manager, Veurink, leaving to become head coach of the Dutch national team, however her move arrived more quickly.

Stepping away has been a jarring experience, but “I’d taken my decision to exit the national setup quite a long time ago”, Van Ginhoven says. “I had a contract lasting four years, similar to Veurink and Wiegman had. As they re-signed, I previously indicated I wasn't sure if I would do the same. I had grown accustomed to the whole idea that after the European Championship I would no longer be involved with the national team.”

The tournament became a deeply felt competition due to that. “I remember very clearly, vividly, discussing with Wiegman in which I informed her about my decision and after which we agreed: ‘There’s just one dream, how incredible it would be that we win the Euros?’ Generally, dreams don't hopes materialize every day yet, absolutely incredibly, ours came true.”

Dressed in orange, Van Ginhoven has divided loyalties following her stint with the English team, where she was part of claiming two Euros in a row and was a part of the coaching setup for the Netherlands’ triumph in the 2017 European Championship.

“England will always hold a dear spot in my heart. So, it’s going to be tough, especially with the knowledge that the squad are due to arrive for national team duty soon,” she says. “Whenever the two nations face off, where do my loyalties lie? I’m wearing orange at the moment, though tomorrow English white.”

In a speedboat, you can pivot and accelerate swiftly. In a lean group like this one, that’s easily done.

The club was not in the plans when the organisational wizard concluded it was time to move on, but the opportunity arose perfectly. Cossington started to bring people in and mutual beliefs were crucial.

“Essentially upon meeting we connected we had that click moment,” says Van Ginhoven. “There was immediate understanding. We've discussed extensively regarding multiple aspects around how you grow the game and what we think is the right way.”

These executives are not the only figures to make a move from high-profile jobs in Europe's football scene for a fresh start in the US. The Spanish club's women’s technical director, González, has been announced as the organization's new global sporting director.

“I was very attracted to that strong belief regarding the strength of the women’s game,” González explains. “I have known Kay Cossington for a long time; when I used to work at Fifa, she held the technical director role for England, and it’s easy to make these decisions when you know you are going to be surrounded by people who really inspire you.”

The extensive expertise among their staff distinguishes them, says Van Ginhoven, with Bay Collective part of a group fresh club ownership ventures that have started in recent years. “This is a key differentiator for us. Various methods are valid, but we definitely believe in incorporating football expertise,” she says. “Each of us have traveled a path within the women's game, probably for the best part of our lives.”

As their website states, the ambition of this group is to champion and pioneer an advanced and lasting environment of women’s football clubs, based on what works addressing the different demands of female athletes. Doing that, with collective agreement, without having to justify actions regarding certain decisions, provides great freedom.

“I compare it with moving from a large ship to a fast boat,” remarks Van Ginhoven. “You’re basically driving across unmapped territories – as we say in the Netherlands, I don’t know if it translates – and you just need to rely on your individual understanding and experience for making correct choices. You can pivot and accelerate rapidly in a speedboat. In a small team like this, that is simple to achieve.”

She adds: “In this role, we begin with a clean canvas to work from. For me, what we do involves shaping the sport on a much broader level and that blank slate enables you to pursue any direction you choose, adhering to football's guidelines. That’s the beauty of our joint endeavor.”

The aspirations are significant, those in leading roles are expressing sentiments players and fans hope to hear and it will be fascinating to follow the development of the collective, Bay FC and future additions to the group.

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