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This past Wednesday, this new ownership entity revealed the appointment of Van Ginhoven, England's general manager working with Sarina Wiegman, to serve as their global women's football operations director. This freshly established collective club ownership initiative, with San Francisco’s Bay FC as its initial addition among its holdings, has previously engaged in recruiting from the English FA.

The hiring this year of Cossington, the prominent previous technical director at the Football Association, as top executive acted as a signal of intent from this organization. Cossington knows women’s football inside out and now she has assembled an executive team with a deep understanding of the history of women's football and filled with experience.

She marks the third key figure of the manager's inner circle to depart recently, following the chief executive exiting before the Euros and assistant coach, Veurink, leaving to assume the position of head coach of Holland, however Van Ginhoven's choice came sooner.

Moving on has been a shock to the system, yet “I’d taken my decision to leave the FA well in advance”, she states. “I had a contract for four years, similar to Arjan and Sarina did. Upon their extension, I previously indicated I didn’t know about renewing myself. I had grown accustomed to the notion that after the European Championship I would no longer be involved with the national team.”

The Euros became a sentimental tournament because of this. “I remember very clearly, vividly, having a conversation with Wiegman where I basically told her of my choice and then we said: ‘Our ultimate aspiration, how amazing would it be if we were to win the European Championship?’ Generally, dreams don't aspirations are realized often but, against the odds, it actually happened.”

Wearing a Netherlands-colored shirt, Van Ginhoven holds dual affections post her tenure with the English team, during which she contributed to winning back-to-back European titles and worked within the coaching setup for the Netherlands’ triumph the 2017 Euros.

“The English side will forever have a special place in my heart. So, it will be challenging, especially with the knowledge that the players will be arriving for the international camp shortly,” she notes. “When England plays the Netherlands, where do my loyalties lie? I’m wearing orange at the moment, but tomorrow I'll be in white.”

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

The club was not part of the equation as the management specialist was deciding it was time to move on, but everything aligned opportunely. Cossington started to bring people in and mutual beliefs proved essential.

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

These executives are not alone to relocate from well-known positions within European football for a blank sheet of paper across the Atlantic. Atlético Madrid’s technical director for women's football, González, has been introduced as the organization's worldwide sports director.

“I was highly interested in the deep faith in the potential within the female sport,” González says. “I'm familiar with Cossington for an extended period; during my tenure at Fifa, she was the technical director of England, and it’s easy to make these decisions when you are aware you are going to be surrounded by individuals who motivate you.”

The extensive expertise within their group makes them unique, says she, with Bay Collective part of a group new multi-club initiatives which have emerged in recent years. “It's a standout feature of our approach. Various methods are valid, however we strongly feel in incorporating football expertise,” she adds. “The entire leadership have progressed in women’s football, for most of our lives.”

As outlined on their site, the goal for the collective is to advocate and innovate a progressive and sustainable ecosystem within female football clubs, founded on effective practices addressing the different demands of female athletes. Doing that, with everyone on the same page, without having to justify actions for why you would take certain actions, is hugely liberating.

“I equate it to moving from a large ship to a fast boat,” says Van Ginhoven. “You’re basically driving through waters that there are no roadmaps for – as we say in the Netherlands, I don’t know if it translates – and it's necessary to trust your individual understanding and experience to make the right decision. You can pivot and accelerate rapidly in a speedboat. In a small team like this, it's straightforward to accomplish.”

González continues: “Here, we have a completely white sheet of paper to work from. Personally, our work focuses on impacting football more extensively and that blank slate enables you to pursue any direction you choose, within the rules of the game. This is the appeal of our joint endeavor.”

Their goals are lofty, the executives are saying the things athletes and supporters want to hear and it will be interesting to monitor the progress of this organization, the team and any clubs added to the portfolio.

For a flavour of what is to come, 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