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This past Wednesday, this new ownership entity announced the recruitment of Anja van Ginhoven, the English national team's managerial lead working with head coach Sarina Wiegman, as their director of global women’s football operations. This new multi-team ownership group, with the San Francisco-based Bay FC as the initial addition among its holdings, has previously engaged in hiring individuals from the national football governing body.

The appointment this year of Cossington, the prominent ex-technical director for the FA, to the CEO role acted as a clear statement by this organization. She understands female football thoroughly and now she has assembled a management group with profound insight of the history of women's football and filled with professional background.

She is the third core member of Wiegman's coaching team to depart recently, with Cossington departing before the Euros and the assistant manager, Arjan Veurink, moving on to take up the role of head manager of the Dutch national team, but her move was made earlier.

Moving on has been a surprising shift, but “My choice was made to exit the national setup well in advance”, Van Ginhoven states. “The terms lasting four years, exactly like Arjan and Sarina 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 my time with England would end.”

The Euros turned into an emotional tournament due to that. “It's sharp in my memory, speaking with the head coach in which I informed her regarding my plans and we then remarked: ‘There’s just one dream, how incredible it would be if we were to win the European Championship?’ In reality, it's rare that aspirations are realized every day yet, against the odds, ours came true.”

Sitting in an orange T-shirt, Van Ginhoven holds dual affections following her stint working in England, during which she contributed to securing consecutive European championships and worked within the manager's team when the Netherlands won in the 2017 European Championship.

“The English side will always hold a dear spot in my heart. So, it will be challenging, notably since that the squad are due to arrive for the international camp in the near future,” she says. “Whenever the two nations face off, which side do I back? Right now I'm in Dutch colors, though tomorrow English white.”

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

The club was not part of the equation as the organisational wizard was deciding it was time to move on, but the opportunity arose perfectly. The chief executive started to bring people in and mutual beliefs proved essential.

“Almost from the very first moment we got together we felt immediate synergy,” remarks she. “We were instantly aligned. Our conversations have been thorough about different things related to developing women's football and the methods we believe are correct.”

Cossington and Van Ginhoven are not the only figures to relocate from high-profile jobs in Europe's football scene for a blank sheet of paper in the US. Atlético Madrid’s technical director for women's football, Patricia González, has been introduced as Bay Collective’s worldwide sports director.

“I was very attracted in the deep faith in the potential within the female sport,” González explains. “I'm familiar with Cossington for an extended period; back when I was with Fifa, she was the technical director of England, and such choices are straightforward when you know you'll be working alongside people who really inspire you.”

The depth of knowledge in their team makes them unique, notes she, as Bay Collective part of a group new multi-club initiatives which have emerged over the past few years. “That’s one of our unique selling points. Different approaches are acceptable, but we are firm in our belief in incorporating football expertise,” she states. “All three of us have been on a journey within the women's game, probably for the best part of our lives.”

According to their online statement, the mission of Bay Collective is to support and lead a forward-thinking and durable system for women's football clubs, founded on effective practices addressing the different demands of female athletes. Doing that, with everyone on the same page, eliminating the need for persuasion for specific initiatives, is incredibly freeing.

“I liken it to moving from a large ship to a fast boat,” says she. “You’re basically driving across unmapped territories – that’s a Dutch saying, not sure how it comes across – and you must depend on your individual understanding and experience to make the right decision. You can change direction and move quickly in a speedboat. Within a compact team such as ours, it's straightforward to accomplish.”

She adds: “In this role, we have a completely white sheet of paper to work from. In my view, our mission is about influencing the game on a wider scale and that blank slate permits you to undertake any direction you choose, adhering to football's guidelines. That’s the beauty of our collective project.”

Their goals are lofty, the executives are expressing sentiments players and fans hope to hear and it will be fascinating to follow the development of the collective, Bay FC and future additions to the group.

For a flavour of what is to come, what are the key aspects in a high-performance setting? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve