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On Wednesday, this new ownership entity announced the hiring of Van Ginhoven, the English national team's managerial lead working with head coach Sarina Wiegman, taking on the role of director of global women’s football operations. The new multi-team ownership group, with the San Francisco-based Bay FC as the initial addition among its holdings, has a history in bringing in talent from the English FA.

The selection in recent months of Kay Cossington, the well-respected former FA technical director, as top executive served as a clear statement from Bay Collective. She is deeply familiar with women’s football comprehensively and now she has assembled a leadership team with profound insight of the history of women's football and filled with experience.

She becomes the third key figure of Wiegman’s setup to depart this year, following the chief executive departing before Euro 2025 and assistant coach, Arjan Veurink, leaving to become head manager of the Dutch national team, however Van Ginhoven's choice came sooner.

Stepping away has been a jarring experience, yet “My choice was made to exit the national setup quite a long time ago”, Van Ginhoven says. “I had a contract lasting four years, exactly like Arjan and Sarina did. When they renewed, 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 tournament was an emotional competition due to that. “I recall distinctly, having a conversation with Wiegman where I basically told her regarding my plans and after which we agreed: ‘We share a single dream, how incredible it would be if we were to win the European Championship?’ In life, dreams don't dreams come true every day yet, against the odds, ours came true.”

Dressed in orange, Van Ginhoven holds dual affections post her tenure in England, where she helped achieve claiming two Euros in a row and was a part of the coaching setup when the Netherlands won the 2017 Euros.

“The national team will always hold an emotional connection for me. Therefore, it will be challenging, particularly now knowing that the squad are scheduled to come for national team duty in the near future,” she comments. “Whenever the two nations face off, which side do I back? I’m wearing orange at the moment, but tomorrow I'll be in white.”

A speedboat allows for rapid direction changes. In a small team like this, that is simple to achieve.

The American side was not initially considered as the organisational wizard concluded that a new chapter was needed, but the opportunity arose opportunely. The chief executive initiated the recruitment and their shared values were key.

“Essentially upon meeting we connected we experienced an instant connection,” states Van Ginhoven. “There was immediate understanding. Our conversations have been thorough about different things related to developing women's football and our shared vision for the right approach.”

The two leaders are not the only figures to uproot themselves from high-profile jobs in Europe's football scene for a blank sheet of paper in the US. The Spanish club's technical director for women's football, González, has been introduced as the organization's worldwide sports director.

“I was highly interested to that strong belief of the power within the female sport,” she explains. “I have known Kay Cossington for a long time; during my tenure at Fifa, she was the technical director of England, and decisions like this come naturally when you know you'll be working alongside colleagues who drive you.”

The depth of knowledge within their group distinguishes them, explains Van Ginhoven, as Bay Collective part of a group recent multi-team projects which have emerged in recent years. “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 adds. “Each of us have traveled a path in female football, throughout our careers.”

According to their online statement, the ambition of this group is to support and lead a forward-thinking and durable system within female football clubs, built on proven methods to meet the varied requirements of women in sport. Achieving this, with unified understanding, eliminating the need for persuasion regarding certain decisions, is hugely liberating.

“I liken it to transitioning from a tanker to a speedboat,” remarks Van Ginhoven. “You’re basically driving across unmapped territories – that’s a Dutch saying, I'm unsure if it translates well – and it's necessary to trust your own knowledge and expertise for making correct choices. You can pivot and accelerate rapidly using a speedboat. Within a compact team such as ours, that is simple to achieve.”

González notes: “In this role, we have a completely white sheet of paper to build upon. Personally, our work involves shaping the sport on a much broader level and that clean start permits you to undertake whatever you want, adhering to football's guidelines. This is the appeal of our joint endeavor.”

The ambition is high, those in leading roles are expressing sentiments athletes and supporters are eager to hear and it will be compelling to observe the evolution of this organization, Bay FC and other teams that may join.

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