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Midweek, Bay Collective announced the recruitment of Anja van Ginhoven, England's managerial lead under Sarina Wiegman, to serve as their global women's football operations director. This freshly established collective club ownership initiative, featuring San Francisco’s Bay FC as the first club among its holdings, has a history in hiring individuals from the Football Association.

The selection this year of Kay Cossington, the prominent ex-technical director for the FA, as the chief executive acted as a demonstration of ambition from Bay Collective. Cossington knows the women's game inside out and currently has gathered a leadership team with profound insight of the history of women's football and packed with professional background.

She becomes the third central staffer of Wiegman's coaching team to exit in the current year, following the chief executive exiting prior to Euro 2025 and deputy manager, Arjan Veurink, leaving to assume the position of manager of the Netherlands, but her decision came sooner.

Stepping away was a shock to the system, but “My choice was made to depart the Football Association well in advance”, she explains. “My agreement covering four years, exactly like Arjan and Sarina had. As they re-signed, I had expressed I wasn't sure about renewing myself. I had grown accustomed to the whole idea that post-Euros my time with England would end.”

The European Championship turned into an emotional event because of this. “It's sharp in my memory, speaking with the head coach where I basically told her of my choice and after which we agreed: ‘Our ultimate aspiration, how amazing would it be to clinch the European title?’ Generally, it's rare that dreams come true frequently yet, against the odds, this one did.”

Dressed in orange, she experiences split allegiances after her time working in England, where she helped achieve securing consecutive European championships and served on the coaching setup when the Netherlands won in the 2017 European Championship.

“The national team will forever have a dear spot in my heart. Therefore, it will be challenging, notably since that the squad are due to arrive for the international camp in the near future,” she comments. “When England plays the Netherlands, where do my loyalties lie? I’m wearing orange at the moment, but tomorrow it’s white.”

A speedboat allows for rapid direction changes. In a small team like this, it's effortless to accomplish.

The club was not initially considered when the strategic expert concluded that it was time for a change, however the opportunity arose opportunely. The chief executive began assembling the team and common principles proved essential.

“Almost from the very first moment we got together we experienced an instant connection,” says Van Ginhoven. “There was immediate understanding. We have spoken at length on various topics concerning growing the sport and the methods we believe are correct.”

The two leaders are not the only figures to uproot themselves from high-profile jobs in Europe's football scene for a fresh start across the Atlantic. Atlético Madrid’s technical director for women's football, Patricia González, has been introduced as the group's global sporting director.

“I was highly interested to that strong belief of the power of women's football,” she explains. “I've been acquainted with Kay Cossington for a long time; back when I was with Fifa, she held the technical director role for England, and it’s easy to make these decisions when you are aware you'll be working alongside colleagues who drive you.”

The extensive expertise within their group distinguishes them, explains Van Ginhoven, with Bay Collective one of several recent multi-team projects which have emerged lately. “That’s one of our unique selling points. It’s OK that people do things in different ways, but we are firm in our belief in incorporating football expertise,” she states. “The entire leadership have progressed in women’s football, probably for the best part of our lives.”

According to their online statement, the goal for the collective is to advocate and innovate an advanced and lasting environment within female football clubs, based on what works addressing the different demands of women in sport. Achieving this, with everyone on the same page, without having to justify actions for why you would take certain actions, is hugely liberating.

“I liken it to transitioning from a tanker to a speedboat,” remarks Van Ginhoven. “You are essentially navigating across unmapped territories – as we say in the Netherlands, I don’t know if it translates – and you must depend on your own knowledge and expertise to make the right decision. You can change direction and move quickly using a speedboat. Within a compact team such as ours, that’s easily done.”

González adds: “With this opportunity, we have a completely white sheet of paper to start with. In my view, our mission is about influencing the game more extensively and that clean start allows you to do whatever you want, following the sport's regulations. This is the appeal of our collective project.”

Their goals are lofty, the executives are expressing sentiments the football community want to hear and it will be compelling to follow the development of Bay Collective, the club and future additions to the group.

For a flavour of what is to come, which elements are crucial for a top-level environment? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve