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Midweek, this new ownership entity disclosed the hiring of Anja van Ginhoven, England's general manager working with Sarina Wiegman, to serve as their director of global women’s football operations. The new collective club ownership initiative, with the San Francisco-based Bay FC as its first club within its group, has prior experience in hiring individuals from the English FA.

The hiring in recent months of Kay Cossington, the prominent previous technical director at the Football Association, as top executive acted as a clear statement from Bay Collective. She is deeply familiar with female football thoroughly and now she has assembled an executive team with a deep understanding of the evolution of the women's game and filled with experience.

Van Ginhoven marks the third central staffer of Wiegman’s setup 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 manager of the Dutch national team, however her decision came sooner.

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. “My agreement covering four years, just as Arjan and Sarina did. When they renewed, I had already said I was uncertain about renewing myself. I had accepted the whole idea that following the tournament I wouldn’t be part of England any more.”

The Euros was a deeply felt event because of this. “I remember very clearly, vividly, speaking with Sarina in which I informed her about my decision and we then remarked: ‘Our ultimate aspiration, how incredible it would be if we were to win the European Championship?’ In life, it's rare that hopes materialize frequently but, remarkably, it actually happened.”

Wearing a Netherlands-colored shirt, Van Ginhoven holds dual affections post her tenure working in England, where she was part of claiming two Euros in a row and worked within Wiegman’s staff for the Netherlands’ triumph the 2017 Euros.

“The English side will always hold a dear spot in my heart. Therefore, it’s going to be tough, particularly now knowing that the players will be arriving for the international camp soon,” she says. “In matches between England and the Netherlands, where do my loyalties lie? Right now I'm in Dutch colors, but tomorrow it’s white.”

In a speedboat, you can pivot and accelerate swiftly. With a compact team such as ours, it's effortless to accomplish.

The American side was not part of the equation when the strategic expert was deciding it was time to move on, however the pieces fell into place at the right time. The chief executive initiated the recruitment and their shared values were crucial.

“Essentially upon meeting we met we had that click moment,” remarks she. “We were instantly aligned. Our conversations have been thorough on various topics concerning growing the sport and the methods we believe are correct.”

The two leaders are not the only figures to relocate from high-profile jobs within European football for a blank sheet of paper in the US. The Spanish club's women’s technical director, Patricia González, has been unveiled as the organization's new global sporting director.

“I was very attracted by the firm conviction regarding the strength of women's football,” she says. “I have known Kay Cossington for many years; when I used to work at Fifa, she held the technical director role for England, and such choices are straightforward knowing you will have around you people who really inspire you.”

The extensive expertise in their team distinguishes them, says Van Ginhoven, for the collective among a number fresh club ownership ventures which have emerged lately. “That’s one of our unique selling points. Various methods are valid, however we strongly feel in ensuring deep football understanding,” she adds. “Each of us have traveled a path within the women's game, for most of our lives.”

As outlined on their site, the ambition of Bay Collective is to support and lead an advanced and lasting environment for women's football clubs, built on proven methods for the diverse needs of women in sport. Doing that, with everyone on the same page, with no need to make the case for specific initiatives, is incredibly freeing.

“I equate it to moving from a large ship to a fast boat,” says Van Ginhoven. “You are essentially navigating in uncharted waters – as we say in the Netherlands, I'm unsure if it translates well – and you just need to rely on your individual understanding and experience to choose wisely. You can pivot and accelerate rapidly using a speedboat. Within a compact team such as ours, that is simple to achieve.”

González notes: “With this opportunity, we start with a blank slate to work from. For me, our mission involves shaping the sport on a wider scale and that blank slate allows you to do anything you desire, following the sport's regulations. That is the advantage of what we are building together.”

The ambition is high, those in leading roles are voicing opinions athletes and supporters are eager to hear and it will be interesting to observe the evolution of Bay Collective, the club and other teams that may join.

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