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Midweek, Bay Collective disclosed the appointment of Van Ginhoven, the English national team's managerial lead under head coach Sarina Wiegman, as their director of global women’s football operations. This freshly established multi-club ownership body, which includes the San Francisco-based Bay FC as the initial addition within its group, has previously engaged in hiring individuals from the national football governing body.

The hiring in recent months of Kay Cossington, the influential ex-technical director for the FA, as the chief executive was a demonstration of ambition from Bay Collective. Cossington understands female football thoroughly and now she has assembled a management group with profound insight of the evolution of the women's game and filled with professional background.

Van Ginhoven is the third central staffer of Wiegman’s setup to depart in the current year, with Cossington leaving prior to Euro 2025 and deputy manager, Veurink, leaving to assume the position of head manager of the Dutch national team, but Van Ginhoven's choice arrived more quickly.

Leaving was a surprising shift, but “My choice was made to exit the national setup well in advance”, she says. “I had a contract covering four years, exactly like Veurink and Wiegman had. Upon their extension, I had already said I didn’t know whether I would. I had grown accustomed to the thought that following the tournament I would no longer be involved with the national team.”

The tournament was a sentimental tournament because of this. “It's sharp in my memory, speaking with Sarina in which I informed her regarding my plans and after which we agreed: ‘We share a single dream, how amazing would it be if we were to win the European Championship?’ Generally, it’s not like hopes materialize frequently yet, remarkably, ours came true.”

Sitting in an orange T-shirt, Van Ginhoven experiences split allegiances post her tenure with the English team, where she was part of winning back-to-back European titles and served on Wiegman’s staff when the Netherlands won the 2017 Euros.

“The English side will always hold a special place in my heart. Therefore, it will be difficult, especially with the knowledge that the squad will be arriving for the upcoming fixtures shortly,” she says. “When England plays the Netherlands, which side do I back? Right now I'm in Dutch colors, but tomorrow I'll be in white.”

You can change direction and move quickly in a speedboat. In a lean group like this one, it's effortless to accomplish.

Bay FC was not part of the equation when the organisational wizard concluded that a new chapter was needed, however everything aligned opportunely. Cossington started to bring people in and common principles were key.

“Almost from the very first moment we met we felt immediate synergy,” remarks Van Ginhoven. “We were instantly aligned. We have spoken at length about different things related to developing women's football and the methods we believe are correct.”

These executives are among several to uproot themselves from prominent roles in Europe's football scene for a blank sheet of paper across the Atlantic. Atlético Madrid’s technical director for women's football, Patricia González, has been introduced as Bay Collective’s global sporting director.

“I was highly interested by the firm conviction regarding the strength of the women’s game,” she says. “I have known Kay Cossington for an extended period; during my tenure at Fifa, she held the technical director role for England, and decisions like this come naturally knowing you are going to be surrounded by individuals who motivate you.”

The extensive expertise in their team makes them unique, says she, with Bay Collective among a number new multi-club initiatives which have emerged lately. “This is a key differentiator for us. It’s OK that people do things in different ways, but we definitely believe in ensuring deep football understanding,” she says. “All three of us have progressed in women’s football, throughout our careers.”

As outlined on their site, the ambition for the collective is to champion and pioneer a progressive and sustainable ecosystem within female football clubs, based on what works to meet the varied requirements of women. Doing that, with unified understanding, eliminating the need for persuasion for why you would take certain actions, provides great freedom.

“I equate it to going from a tanker to a speedboat,” says she. “You’re basically driving through waters that there are no roadmaps for – that’s a Dutch saying, not sure how it comes across – and it's necessary to trust your personal insight and skills to choose wisely. You can change direction and move quickly with a speedboat. In a small team like this, that’s easily done.”

She adds: “With this opportunity, we have a completely white sheet of paper to start with. In my view, our mission involves shaping the sport on a wider scale and that white paper allows you to do anything you desire, within the rules of the game. This is the appeal of what we are building together.”

The aspirations are significant, the management are saying the things athletes and supporters want to hear and it will be fascinating to follow the development of this organization, Bay FC and other teams that may join.

For a flavour of what is to come, what are the key aspects in a high-performance setting? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve