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On Wednesday, this new ownership entity disclosed the recruitment of Van Ginhoven, the English national team's general manager under head coach Sarina Wiegman, taking on the role of overseer of worldwide women's football activities. The freshly established multi-team ownership group, with the San Francisco-based Bay FC as its first club within its group, has previously engaged in hiring individuals from the English FA.

The hiring this year of Kay Cossington, the well-respected previous technical director at the Football Association, to the CEO role acted as a signal of intent from the collective. She is deeply familiar with female football thoroughly and now she has assembled a leadership team with a deep understanding of the evolution of the women's game and filled with experience.

Van Ginhoven becomes the third core member of Wiegman’s setup to exit in the current year, with Cossington leaving before the Euros and deputy manager, Arjan Veurink, moving on to become manager of Holland, but Van Ginhoven's choice came sooner.

Stepping away proved to be a jarring experience, but “My choice was made to leave the FA quite a long time ago”, she explains. “I had a contract lasting four years, just as the assistant and head coach did. When they renewed, I had expressed I didn’t know if I would do the same. I had accepted the whole idea that following the tournament I wouldn’t be part of England any more.”

The European Championship was a deeply felt tournament due to that. “I remember very clearly, vividly, having a conversation with the head coach when I disclosed about my decision and we then remarked: ‘There’s just one dream, how amazing would it be if we were to win the European Championship?’ In life, it's rare that dreams come true frequently yet, absolutely incredibly, this one did.”

Wearing a Netherlands-colored shirt, Van Ginhoven has divided loyalties post her tenure in England, where she helped achieve claiming two Euros in a row and was a part of the manager's team during the Dutch victory in the 2017 European Championship.

“The national team will forever have a special place in my heart. So, it’s going to be tough, notably since that the squad will be arriving for the upcoming fixtures soon,” she says. “Whenever the two nations face off, who do I support? Right now I'm in Dutch colors, though tomorrow English white.”

You can change direction and move quickly in a speedboat. In a lean group like this one, that’s easily done.

The club was not part of the equation as the strategic expert was deciding that a new chapter was needed, but everything aligned at the right time. Cossington initiated the recruitment and mutual beliefs proved essential.

“Essentially upon meeting we met we had that click moment,” says Van Ginhoven. “We were instantly aligned. We have spoken at length on various topics related to developing women's football and what we think is the right way.”

Cossington and Van Ginhoven are not alone to make a move from well-known positions in Europe's football scene for a blank sheet of paper across the Atlantic. The Spanish club's female football technical lead, González, has been announced as Bay Collective’s new global sporting director.

“I was highly interested in the deep faith in the potential within the female sport,” González comments. “I'm familiar with Cossington for a long time; back when I was with Fifa, she was the technical director of England, and such choices are straightforward knowing you'll be working alongside individuals who motivate you.”

The profound understanding among their staff distinguishes them, explains she, with Bay Collective among a number recent multi-team projects which have emerged over the past few years. “It's a standout feature of our approach. Different approaches are acceptable, however we strongly feel in incorporating football expertise,” she states. “Each of us have progressed in female football, probably for the best part of our lives.”

As outlined on their site, the goal for the collective is to advocate and innovate an advanced and lasting environment of women’s football clubs, based on what works to meet the varied requirements of women in sport. Doing that, with collective agreement, with no need to make the case regarding certain decisions, provides great freedom.

“I liken it to transitioning from a tanker to a speedboat,” states she. “You are essentially navigating in uncharted waters – as we say in the Netherlands, I don’t know if it translates – and it's necessary to trust your personal insight and skills to make the right decision. You can change direction and move quickly using a speedboat. In a lean group like this, it's straightforward to accomplish.”

She adds: “In this role, we begin with a clean canvas to build upon. For me, what we do involves shaping the sport on a much broader level and that clean start allows you to do any direction you choose, within the rules of the game. That’s the beauty of what we are building together.”

The aspirations are significant, those in leading roles are saying the things the football community are eager to hear and it will be compelling to observe the evolution of Bay Collective, the team and future additions to the group.

For a flavour of what is to come, 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