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Midweek, Bay Collective disclosed the recruitment of Anja van Ginhoven, England's managerial lead under head coach Sarina Wiegman, as their global women's football operations director. The new collective club ownership initiative, with San Francisco’s Bay FC as the initial addition among its holdings, has a history in hiring individuals from the national football governing body.

The appointment earlier this year of Kay Cossington, the well-respected previous technical director at the Football Association, to the CEO role served as a clear statement from Bay Collective. She knows the women's game comprehensively and currently she has assembled a management group that possesses extensive knowledge of the evolution of the women's game and laden with professional background.

Van Ginhoven becomes the third central staffer of Wiegman’s setup to depart in the current year, with the chief executive departing prior to Euro 2025 and assistant coach, Veurink, stepping down to take up the role of manager of the Dutch national team, but her decision arrived more quickly.

Moving on proved to be a surprising shift, but “I’d taken my decision to leave the FA well in advance”, she says. “I had a contract lasting four years, just as Arjan and Sarina did. When they renewed, I had already said I didn’t know if I would do the same. I had grown accustomed to the notion that after the European Championship I would no longer be involved with the national team.”

The tournament became an emotional event because of this. “I remember very clearly, vividly, having a conversation with Wiegman where I basically told her about my decision and after which we agreed: ‘Our ultimate aspiration, how incredible it would be to clinch the European title?’ In life, it’s not like hopes materialize frequently however, against the odds, ours came true.”

Dressed in orange, Van Ginhoven experiences split allegiances after her time in England, where she was part of claiming two Euros in a row and was a part of Wiegman’s staff when the Netherlands won in the 2017 European Championship.

“England retains a special place in my heart. Therefore, it will be challenging, especially with the knowledge that the team are scheduled to come for national team duty shortly,” she says. “In matches between England and the Netherlands, who do I support? I’m wearing orange at the moment, but tomorrow I'll be in white.”

In a speedboat, you can pivot and accelerate swiftly. In a small team like this, that’s easily done.

The American side was not in the plans as the organisational wizard was deciding that a new chapter was needed, however the opportunity arose at the right time. The chief executive started to bring people in and mutual beliefs proved essential.

“Virtually from the start we met we had that click moment,” remarks Van Ginhoven. “You’re immediately on the same level. We've discussed extensively about different things concerning growing the sport and the methods we believe are correct.”

Cossington and Van Ginhoven are not the only figures to uproot themselves from well-known positions in the European game for a fresh start in the US. The Spanish club's female football technical lead, González, has been introduced as Bay Collective’s global sporting director.

“I was highly interested by the firm conviction of the power of the women’s game,” González explains. “I'm familiar with Cossington for a long time; during my tenure at Fifa, she served as England's technical director, and such choices are straightforward when you know you are going to be surrounded by individuals who motivate you.”

The profound understanding in their team sets them apart, notes she, with Bay Collective among a number fresh club ownership ventures to launch in recent years. “It's a standout feature of our approach. Various methods are valid, but we definitely believe in incorporating football expertise,” she says. “Each of us have been on a journey within the women's game, throughout our careers.”

As outlined on their site, the goal of this group is to support and lead a forward-thinking and durable system for women's football clubs, founded on effective practices to meet the varied requirements of female athletes. Succeeding in this, with everyone on the same page, with no need to make the case for specific initiatives, is hugely liberating.

“I liken it to transitioning from a tanker to a speedboat,” says she. “You're journeying in uncharted waters – a common Dutch expression, not sure how it comes across – 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 notes: “Here, we begin with a clean canvas to work from. Personally, what we do involves shaping the sport more extensively and that clean start enables you to pursue any direction you choose, following the sport's regulations. That is the advantage of what we are building together.”

Their goals are lofty, the executives are expressing sentiments athletes and supporters hope to hear and it will be compelling to follow the development of the collective, the club and future additions to the group.

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