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Midweek, this new ownership entity revealed the recruitment of Van Ginhoven, the English national team's managerial lead working with Sarina Wiegman, taking on the role of director of global women’s football operations. This freshly established collective club ownership initiative, with Bay FC of San Francisco as its initial addition among its holdings, has prior experience in recruiting from the Football Association.

The appointment in recent months of Kay Cossington, the well-respected former FA technical director, to the CEO role served as a demonstration of ambition by the collective. Cossington is deeply familiar with women’s football thoroughly and now has put together a leadership team that possesses extensive knowledge of the evolution of the women's game and filled with professional background.

Van Ginhoven marks the third central staffer of Wiegman's coaching team to exit recently, with the chief executive departing before the European Championships and assistant coach, Arjan Veurink, moving on to assume the position of head coach of the Dutch national team, but Van Ginhoven's choice was made earlier.

Leaving has been a jarring experience, but “I’d taken my decision to depart the Football Association quite a long time ago”, Van Ginhoven states. “I had a contract lasting four years, similar to Veurink and Wiegman had. Upon their extension, I had already said I didn’t know about renewing myself. I had grown accustomed to the thought that after the European Championship I wouldn’t be part of England any more.”

The Euros became a deeply felt event because of this. “I remember very clearly, vividly, having a conversation with the head coach in which I informed her about my decision and after which we agreed: ‘Our ultimate aspiration, how amazing would it be that we win the Euros?’ In life, dreams don't hopes materialize every day but, against the odds, ours came true.”

Wearing a Netherlands-colored shirt, Van Ginhoven experiences split allegiances post her tenure with the English team, where she helped achieve winning back-to-back European titles and served on the coaching setup during the Dutch victory at Euro 2017.

“The national team retains an emotional connection for me. Therefore, it will be difficult, particularly now knowing that the players are due to arrive for the upcoming fixtures in the near future,” she notes. “Whenever the two nations face off, where do my loyalties lie? I’m wearing orange at the moment, though tomorrow English white.”

In a speedboat, you can pivot and accelerate swiftly. In a small team like this, that is simple to achieve.

Bay FC was not part of the equation when the organisational wizard was deciding that it was time for a change, however everything aligned perfectly. The chief executive started to bring people in and mutual beliefs were key.

“Essentially upon meeting we connected we experienced an instant connection,” remarks Van Ginhoven. “We were instantly aligned. Our conversations have been thorough on various topics related to developing women's football and our shared vision for the right approach.”

The two leaders are not the only figures to relocate from high-profile jobs in the European game for an uncharted opportunity across the Atlantic. Atlético Madrid’s technical director for women's football, Patricia González, has been announced as Bay Collective’s worldwide sports director.

“I was highly interested by the firm conviction in the potential of the women’s game,” she says. “I'm familiar with Cossington for many years; when I used to work at Fifa, she was the technical director of England, and such choices are straightforward knowing you'll be working alongside individuals who motivate you.”

The extensive expertise in their team distinguishes them, says Van Ginhoven, with Bay Collective one of several fresh club ownership ventures to launch in recent years. “This is a key differentiator for us. It’s OK that people do things in different ways, however we strongly feel in ensuring deep football understanding,” she says. “Each of us have progressed in female football, throughout our careers.”

As their website states, the mission for the collective is to champion and pioneer an advanced and lasting environment of women’s football clubs, built on proven methods to meet the varied requirements of women in sport. Succeeding in this, with collective agreement, eliminating the need for persuasion regarding certain decisions, provides great freedom.

“I compare it with moving from a large ship to a fast boat,” says Van Ginhoven. “You’re basically driving through waters that there are no roadmaps for – that’s a Dutch saying, I'm unsure if it translates well – and you just need to rely on your own knowledge and expertise to choose wisely. You can pivot and accelerate rapidly in a speedboat. Within a compact team such as ours, that’s easily done.”

González continues: “In this role, we start with a blank slate to build upon. In my view, what we do is about influencing the game on a much broader level and that clean start enables you to pursue any direction you choose, within the rules of the game. That is the advantage of what we are building together.”

The aspirations are significant, the executives are voicing opinions players and fans are eager to hear and it will be interesting to follow the development of this organization, Bay FC and other teams that may join.

As a preview of upcoming developments, what factors are essential of a high-performance environment? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve