🔗 Share this article

On Wednesday, this new ownership entity disclosed the recruitment of Van Ginhoven, the English national team's managerial lead working with Sarina Wiegman, as their overseer of worldwide women's football activities. This freshly established multi-team ownership group, with Bay FC of San Francisco as the initial addition within its group, has prior experience in bringing in talent from the English FA.

The hiring in recent months of Kay Cossington, the influential former FA technical director, to the CEO role acted as a signal of intent by Bay Collective. She understands women’s football comprehensively and currently has gathered a management group with profound insight of women’s football history and packed with professional background.

She becomes the third central staffer of Wiegman’s setup to exit this year, following Cossington departing before the Euros and deputy manager, Arjan Veurink, moving on to assume the position of head coach of the Dutch national team, but her move was made earlier.

Moving on has been a surprising shift, but “My choice was made to leave the FA quite a long time ago”, Van Ginhoven says. “The terms lasting four years, exactly like the assistant and head coach had. As they re-signed, I had already said I wasn't sure if I would do the same. I was already used to the whole idea that following the tournament my time with England would end.”

The European Championship became a deeply felt event as a result. “I remember very clearly, vividly, having a conversation with the head coach when I disclosed about my decision and then we said: ‘Our ultimate aspiration, how amazing would it be if we were to win the European Championship?’ In reality, it’s not like aspirations are realized frequently yet, remarkably, ours came true.”

Sitting in an orange T-shirt, she has divided loyalties after her time in England, where she helped achieve claiming two Euros in a row and served on Wiegman’s staff during the Dutch victory the 2017 Euros.

“The English side will always hold a dear spot in my heart. Therefore, it’s going to be tough, notably since that the squad will be arriving for national team duty shortly,” she says. “In matches between England and the Netherlands, where do my loyalties lie? I’m wearing orange at the moment, but tomorrow it’s 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 when the organisational wizard concluded it was time to move on, but the pieces fell into place opportunely. Cossington began assembling the team and their shared values were key.

“Essentially upon meeting we met we felt immediate synergy,” says Van Ginhoven. “We were instantly aligned. Our conversations have been thorough on various topics concerning growing the sport and our shared vision for the right approach.”

These executives are among several to relocate from high-profile jobs within European football for an uncharted opportunity in the United States. Atlético Madrid’s female football technical lead, Patricia González, has been unveiled as Bay Collective’s global sporting director.

“I was highly interested in the deep faith regarding the strength of the women’s game,” she comments. “I'm familiar with Cossington for an extended period; back when I was with Fifa, she was the technical director of England, and it’s easy to make these decisions when you are aware you are going to be surrounded by people who really inspire you.”

The profound understanding within their group makes them unique, notes Van Ginhoven, for the collective part of a group new multi-club initiatives which have emerged in recent years. “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 having that football knowledge on board,” she states. “The entire leadership have traveled a path in women’s football, throughout our careers.”

As outlined on their site, the goal for the collective is to support and lead a forward-thinking and durable system of women’s football clubs, based on what works addressing the different demands of women. Achieving this, with unified understanding, eliminating the need for persuasion for specific initiatives, is incredibly freeing.

“I equate it to transitioning from a tanker to a speedboat,” remarks Van Ginhoven. “You’re basically driving in uncharted waters – a common Dutch expression, not sure how it comes across – and you just need to rely on your own knowledge and expertise to make the right decision. Adjusting course and speeding up is possible with a speedboat. In a small team like this, that is simple to achieve.”

She adds: “Here, we begin with a clean canvas to build upon. In my view, what we do involves shaping the sport on a much broader level and that white paper allows you to do any direction you choose, adhering to football's guidelines. That is the advantage of what we are building together.”

The aspirations are significant, those in leading roles are voicing opinions athletes and supporters want to hear and it will be fascinating to monitor the progress of this organization, Bay FC and future additions to the group.

As a preview of upcoming developments, 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