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Midweek, Bay Collective announced the appointment of Anja van Ginhoven, England's general manager working with Sarina Wiegman, as their global women's football operations director. The new collective club ownership initiative, which includes San Francisco’s Bay FC as the inaugural team among its holdings, has a history in hiring individuals from the Football Association.

The selection earlier this year of Cossington, the influential former FA technical director, as top executive acted as a clear statement by this organization. Cossington understands women’s football comprehensively and currently has gathered a management group that possesses extensive knowledge of women’s football history and laden with experience.

Van Ginhoven is the third central staffer of Wiegman’s setup to exit recently, following Cossington departing prior to Euro 2025 and assistant coach, Veurink, moving on to assume the position of head coach of Holland, however Van Ginhoven's choice came sooner.

Moving on has been a surprising shift, yet “I’d taken my decision to leave the FA some time back”, Van Ginhoven explains. “The terms for four years, exactly like Veurink and Wiegman had. When they renewed, I had expressed I wasn't sure about renewing myself. 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 competition because of this. “I remember very clearly, vividly, speaking with Sarina in which I informed her about my decision and then we said: ‘We share a single dream, what a triumph it would represent to clinch the European title?’ In reality, it's rare that dreams come true frequently however, absolutely incredibly, this one did.”

Dressed in orange, Van Ginhoven experiences split allegiances after her time in England, where she was part of winning back-to-back European titles and served on Wiegman’s staff during the Dutch victory the 2017 Euros.

“The English side will always hold a special place in my heart. So, it will be difficult, particularly now knowing that the squad are due to arrive for the international camp in the near future,” she notes. “Whenever the two nations face off, which side do I back? I’m wearing orange at the moment, but tomorrow it’s white.”

You can change direction and move quickly in a speedboat. With a compact team such as ours, it's effortless to accomplish.

Bay FC was not initially considered when the management specialist determined it was time to move on, however the opportunity arose perfectly. Cossington began assembling the team and their shared values were key.

“Essentially upon meeting we got together we had that click moment,” states she. “We were instantly aligned. We've discussed extensively on various topics concerning growing the sport and our shared vision for the right approach.”

Cossington and Van Ginhoven are not the only figures to relocate from prominent roles in Europe's football scene for a blank sheet of paper across the Atlantic. The Spanish club's women’s technical director, Patricia González, has been unveiled as Bay Collective’s new global sporting director.

“I was highly interested by the firm conviction in the potential within the female sport,” González explains. “I'm familiar with Cossington for an extended period; when I used to work at Fifa, she held the technical director role for England, and it’s easy to make these decisions knowing you'll be working alongside people who really inspire you.”

The profound understanding among their staff sets them apart, says Van Ginhoven, with Bay Collective one of several new multi-club initiatives that have started lately. “It's a standout feature of our approach. It’s OK that people do things in different ways, however we strongly feel in incorporating football expertise,” she adds. “Each of us have progressed in women’s football, probably for the best part of our lives.”

As outlined on their site, the mission for the collective is to champion and pioneer a forward-thinking and durable system of women’s football clubs, founded on effective practices for the diverse needs of women in sport. Doing that, with unified understanding, with no need to make the case regarding certain decisions, provides great freedom.

“I compare it with going from a tanker to a speedboat,” says she. “You’re basically driving across unmapped territories – a common Dutch expression, I don’t know if it translates – and you just need to rely 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 is simple to achieve.”

González notes: “Here, we begin with a clean canvas to start with. For me, what we do focuses on impacting football on a wider scale and that blank slate allows you to do anything you desire, adhering to football's guidelines. This is the appeal of what we are building together.”

The ambition is high, the executives are voicing opinions players and fans hope to hear and it will be fascinating to monitor the progress of Bay Collective, Bay FC and any clubs added to the portfolio.

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