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This past Wednesday, the Bay Collective group announced the appointment of Van Ginhoven, the English national team's managerial lead working with head coach Sarina Wiegman, to serve as their director of global women’s football operations. This new multi-team ownership group, featuring Bay FC of San Francisco as its first club in its portfolio, has previously engaged in bringing in talent from the national football governing body.

The appointment in recent months of Kay Cossington, the influential former FA technical director, as top executive served as a clear statement by the collective. Cossington is deeply familiar with the women's game thoroughly and now has gathered an executive team with profound insight of the evolution of the women's game and packed with professional background.

Van Ginhoven becomes the third core member of the manager's inner circle to exit recently, with the chief executive exiting prior to the Euros and assistant coach, Arjan Veurink, stepping down to assume the position of head coach of Holland, but her decision was made earlier.

Stepping away proved to be a jarring experience, but “I’d taken my decision to exit the national setup some time back”, she states. “The terms for four years, exactly like Arjan and Sarina had. Upon their extension, I had already said I didn’t know whether I would. I had accepted the notion that following the tournament my time with England would end.”

The Euros turned into a deeply felt tournament due to that. “I recall distinctly, having a conversation with the head coach where I basically told her regarding my plans and we then remarked: ‘Our ultimate aspiration, how incredible it would be that we win the Euros?’ Generally, it’s not like hopes materialize every day yet, absolutely incredibly, ours came true.”

Sitting in an orange T-shirt, she has divided loyalties following her stint in England, where she was part of winning back-to-back European titles and served on the manager's team during the Dutch victory in the 2017 European Championship.

“The national team retains a special place in my heart. So, it will be challenging, particularly now knowing that the squad are due to arrive for national team duty in the near future,” she comments. “When England plays the Netherlands, where do my loyalties lie? Right now I'm in Dutch colors, 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 American side was not initially considered as the strategic expert concluded that it was time for a change, but the opportunity arose at the right time. The chief executive started to bring people in and their shared values were key.

“Almost from the very first moment we got together we felt immediate synergy,” states she. “You’re immediately on the same level. Our conversations have been thorough about different things related to developing women's football and what we think is the right way.”

Cossington and Van Ginhoven are not the only figures to make a move from high-profile jobs in the European game for a blank sheet of paper in the United States. The Spanish club's women’s technical director, González, has been unveiled as the group's new global sporting director.

“I was highly interested by the firm conviction in the potential of the women’s game,” González explains. “I've been acquainted with Kay Cossington for an extended period; when I used to work at Fifa, she was the technical director of England, and decisions like this come naturally when you know you will have around you colleagues who drive you.”

The depth of knowledge among their staff sets them apart, notes Van Ginhoven, for the collective part of a group recent multi-team projects 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, however we strongly feel in having that football knowledge on board,” she adds. “All three of us have traveled a path in female football, probably for the best part of our lives.”

According to their online statement, the ambition for the collective is to advocate and innovate an advanced and lasting environment of women’s football clubs, founded on effective practices for the diverse needs of women in sport. Achieving this, with collective agreement, eliminating the need for persuasion regarding certain decisions, is hugely liberating.

“I equate it to moving from a large ship to a fast boat,” says Van Ginhoven. “You're journeying through waters that there are no roadmaps for – as we say in the Netherlands, I don’t know if it translates – and you must depend on your own knowledge and expertise to make the right decision. You can pivot and accelerate rapidly in a speedboat. In a small team like this, that is simple to achieve.”

González continues: “With this opportunity, we have a completely white sheet of paper to work from. Personally, what we do is about influencing the game on a much broader level and that blank slate enables you to pursue any direction you choose, adhering to football's guidelines. That is the advantage of our joint endeavor.”

The aspirations are significant, the executives are saying the things players and fans are eager to hear and it will be interesting to observe the evolution of Bay Collective, the club and any clubs added to the portfolio.

To get a sense of future plans, what factors are essential in a high-performance setting? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve