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On Wednesday, this new ownership entity revealed the hiring of Anja van Ginhoven, the English national team's general manager working with Sarina Wiegman, to serve as their global women's football operations director. The new multi-club ownership body, which includes San Francisco’s Bay FC as the initial addition in its portfolio, has previously engaged in recruiting from the English FA.

The hiring earlier this year of Cossington, the influential former FA technical director, as top executive acted as a signal of intent by this organization. Cossington knows women’s football comprehensively and currently has put together a management group with profound insight of the evolution of the women's game and packed with professional background.

She becomes the third central staffer of Wiegman’s setup to depart this year, following the chief executive leaving before Euro 2025 and assistant coach, Arjan Veurink, moving on to take up the role of manager of Holland, but her move was made earlier.

Leaving was a surprising shift, yet “My choice was made to depart the Football Association some time back”, she says. “My agreement for four years, exactly like Arjan and Sarina 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 my time with England would end.”

The European Championship became an emotional competition due to that. “I remember very clearly, vividly, speaking with the head coach where I basically told her about my decision and we then remarked: ‘We share a single dream, how incredible it would be if we were to win the European Championship?’ In life, it's rare that hopes materialize frequently but, against the odds, ours came true.”

Wearing a Netherlands-colored shirt, Van Ginhoven experiences split allegiances after her time working in England, where she was part of winning back-to-back European titles and worked within the coaching setup during the Dutch victory at Euro 2017.

“England retains an emotional connection for me. Therefore, it’s going to be tough, especially with the knowledge that the team will be arriving for the upcoming fixtures in the near future,” she comments. “In matches between England and the Netherlands, which side do I back? Today I have on orange, 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 American side was not initially considered as the strategic expert was deciding it was time to move on, but everything aligned opportunely. Cossington started to bring people in and their shared values proved essential.

“Virtually from the start we connected we had that click moment,” says Van Ginhoven. “There was immediate understanding. We've discussed extensively regarding multiple aspects related to developing women's football and our shared vision for the right approach.”

Cossington and Van Ginhoven are not alone to make a move from prominent roles in the European game for a blank sheet of paper in the US. The Spanish club's female football technical lead, Patricia González, has been unveiled as the organization's new global sporting director.

“I was very attracted by the firm conviction regarding the strength within the female sport,” she says. “I've been acquainted with Kay Cossington for a long time; during my tenure at Fifa, she held the technical director role for England, and such choices are straightforward knowing you are going to be surrounded by individuals who motivate you.”

The extensive expertise within their group distinguishes them, says Van Ginhoven, with Bay Collective part of a group new multi-club initiatives that have started lately. “It's a standout feature of our approach. Different approaches are acceptable, but we definitely believe in incorporating football expertise,” she adds. “All three of us have traveled a path in women’s football, probably for the best part of our lives.”

As their website states, the goal of this group is to support and lead a progressive and sustainable ecosystem of women’s football clubs, built on proven methods for the diverse needs of women. Doing that, with collective agreement, 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,” states she. “You are essentially navigating in uncharted waters – a common Dutch expression, I don’t know if it translates – and you must depend on your own knowledge and expertise to make the right decision. Adjusting course and speeding up is possible using a speedboat. Within a compact team such as ours, it's straightforward to accomplish.”

González adds: “In this role, we start with a blank slate to start with. Personally, our work focuses on impacting football on a much broader level and that clean start enables you to pursue whatever you want, within the rules of the game. This is the appeal of what we are building together.”

The ambition is high, the executives are voicing opinions athletes and supporters hope to hear and it will be compelling to monitor the progress of the collective, Bay FC and other teams that may join.

To get a sense of future plans, which elements are crucial of a high-performance environment? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve