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This past Wednesday, Bay Collective disclosed the recruitment of Anja van Ginhoven, the English national team's general manager under head coach Sarina Wiegman, as their overseer of worldwide women's football activities. This new multi-club ownership body, with Bay FC of San Francisco as the first club within its group, has prior experience in hiring individuals from the Football Association.

The selection in recent months of Cossington, the well-respected previous technical director at the Football Association, as top executive was a signal of intent by this organization. Cossington understands female football thoroughly and now has put together a management group that possesses extensive knowledge of women’s football history and filled with practical experience.

Van Ginhoven is the third core member of the manager's inner circle to leave this year, with Cossington departing prior to the Euros and deputy manager, Arjan Veurink, moving on to take up the role of head manager of the Dutch national team, but Van Ginhoven's choice arrived more quickly.

Stepping away was a shock to the system, but “I had decided to depart the Football Association some time back”, she explains. “My agreement for four years, exactly like Arjan and Sarina did. As they re-signed, I had expressed I didn’t know about renewing myself. I was already used to the thought that after the European Championship I would no longer be involved with the national team.”

The Euros was an emotional competition due to that. “It's sharp in my memory, speaking with Sarina in which I informed her about my decision and after which we agreed: ‘We share a single dream, how incredible it would be if we were to win the European Championship?’ Generally, it’s not like aspirations are realized often but, absolutely incredibly, this one did.”

Dressed in orange, she has divided loyalties following her stint in England, during which she contributed to winning back-to-back European titles and was a part of Wiegman’s staff when the Netherlands won in the 2017 European Championship.

“The national team will forever have a dear spot in my heart. Therefore, it’s going to be tough, notably since that the squad will be arriving for national team duty soon,” she says. “Whenever the two nations face off, where do my loyalties lie? Right now I'm in Dutch colors, though tomorrow English white.”

A speedboat allows for rapid direction changes. With a compact team such as ours, that is simple to achieve.

The club was not initially considered when the management specialist determined that it was time for a change, however the pieces fell into place perfectly. Cossington initiated the recruitment and their shared values were key.

“Almost from the very first moment we got together we experienced an instant connection,” remarks Van Ginhoven. “You’re immediately on the same level. We've discussed extensively regarding multiple aspects concerning growing the sport and what we think is the right way.”

The two leaders are not alone to uproot themselves from well-known positions in the European game for an uncharted opportunity in the US. Atlético Madrid’s female football technical lead, González, has been unveiled as the organization's global sporting director.

“I felt strongly drawn by the firm conviction in the potential within the female sport,” she explains. “I've been acquainted with Kay Cossington for many years; during my tenure at Fifa, she held the technical director role for England, and it’s easy to make these decisions knowing you are going to be surrounded by individuals who motivate you.”

The depth of knowledge in their team distinguishes them, explains Van Ginhoven, as Bay Collective among a number new multi-club initiatives to launch over the past few years. “That’s one of our unique selling points. Various methods are valid, however we strongly feel in ensuring deep football understanding,” she states. “Each of us have been on a journey within the women's game, probably for the best part of our lives.”

As their website states, the ambition of Bay Collective is to champion and pioneer a forward-thinking and durable system of women’s football clubs, built on proven methods addressing the different demands of women in sport. Achieving this, with collective agreement, eliminating the need for persuasion regarding certain decisions, is hugely liberating.

“I liken it to going from a tanker to a speedboat,” states Van Ginhoven. “You’re basically driving through waters that there are no roadmaps for – as we say in the Netherlands, I'm unsure if it translates well – and you must depend on your own knowledge and expertise for making correct choices. You can pivot and accelerate rapidly with a speedboat. In a lean group like this, that’s easily done.”

González adds: “Here, we begin with a clean canvas to work from. In my view, our work involves shaping the sport on a wider scale and that white paper allows you to do any direction you choose, within the rules of the game. That’s the beauty of our collective project.”

The aspirations are significant, those in leading roles are saying the things the football community hope to hear and it will be interesting to monitor the progress of this organization, the club and future additions to the group.

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