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Midweek, Bay Collective announced the appointment of Van Ginhoven, England's general manager working with Sarina Wiegman, taking on the role of director of global women’s football operations. This freshly established multi-team ownership group, which includes San Francisco’s Bay FC as the initial addition within its group, has prior experience in hiring individuals from the national football governing body.

The hiring this year of Kay Cossington, the prominent ex-technical director for the FA, to the CEO role was a demonstration of ambition by Bay Collective. She knows women’s football inside out and currently she has assembled an executive 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 setup to leave in the current year, following the chief executive exiting prior to the Euros and deputy manager, Arjan Veurink, leaving to take up the role of head manager of the Netherlands, but Van Ginhoven's choice came sooner.

Stepping away was a jarring experience, but “I’d taken my decision to depart the Football Association well in advance”, Van Ginhoven says. “The terms covering four years, exactly like Veurink and Wiegman had. When they renewed, I had expressed I didn’t know if I would do the same. I had grown accustomed to the thought that post-Euros my time with England would end.”

The Euros turned into a sentimental event as a result. “It's sharp in my memory, having a conversation with the head coach in which I informed her about my decision and after which we agreed: ‘We share a single dream, how incredible it would be that we win the Euros?’ In life, it's rare that aspirations are realized every day yet, absolutely incredibly, it actually happened.”

Wearing a Netherlands-colored shirt, she has divided loyalties after her time working in England, where she helped achieve securing consecutive European championships and was a part of Wiegman’s staff when the Netherlands won in the 2017 European Championship.

“England retains a dear spot in my heart. So, it’s going to be tough, notably since that the players are due to arrive for the international camp soon,” she notes. “Whenever the two nations face off, which side do I back? Today I have on orange, but tomorrow I'll be in white.”

In a speedboat, you can pivot and accelerate swiftly. In a lean group like this one, it's effortless to accomplish.

The club was not in the plans as the management specialist was deciding it was time to move on, but the pieces fell into place perfectly. 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. “There was immediate understanding. Our conversations have been thorough about different things around how you grow the game and the methods we believe are correct.”

The two leaders are not the only figures to uproot themselves from high-profile jobs in the European game for a fresh start in the US. The Spanish club's women’s technical director, González, has been announced as the organization's worldwide sports director.

“I felt strongly drawn in the deep faith of the power of women's football,” she says. “I have known Kay Cossington for a long time; when I used to work at Fifa, she was the technical director of England, and it’s easy to make these decisions when you are aware you'll be working alongside colleagues who drive you.”

The profound understanding in their team makes them unique, notes she, as Bay Collective part of a group recent multi-team projects that have started over the past few years. “That’s one of our unique selling points. Various methods are valid, however we strongly feel in ensuring deep football understanding,” she adds. “All three of us have been on a journey in women’s football, for most of our lives.”

According to their online statement, the ambition of this group is to support and lead a forward-thinking and durable system for women's football clubs, built on proven methods for the diverse needs of women. Succeeding in this, with everyone on the same page, with no need to make the case regarding certain decisions, is hugely liberating.

“I compare it with transitioning from a tanker to a speedboat,” remarks she. “You’re basically driving across unmapped territories – as we say in the Netherlands, I don’t know if it translates – and it's necessary to trust your individual understanding and experience to make the right decision. You can change direction and move quickly using a speedboat. In a lean group like this, that is simple to achieve.”

She notes: “In this role, we have a completely white sheet of paper to start with. For me, our work is about influencing the game more extensively and that white paper allows you to do any direction you choose, within the rules of the game. That’s the beauty of our collective project.”

The aspirations are significant, those in leading roles are expressing sentiments players and fans want to hear and it will be compelling to follow the development of the collective, Bay FC and any clubs added to the portfolio.

For a flavour of what is to come, 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