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Midweek, this new ownership entity revealed the recruitment of Anja van Ginhoven, England's managerial lead working with Sarina Wiegman, taking on the role of director of global women’s football operations. The freshly established multi-team ownership group, featuring the San Francisco-based Bay FC as its initial addition within its group, has previously engaged in recruiting from the Football Association.

The hiring this year of Cossington, the influential former FA technical director, as the chief executive acted as a clear statement by Bay Collective. Cossington knows women’s football comprehensively and currently she has assembled a leadership team with a deep understanding of the evolution of the women's game and filled with professional background.

She becomes the third central staffer of Wiegman's coaching team to leave in the current year, following the chief executive departing before the Euros and deputy manager, Arjan Veurink, stepping down to take up the role of head manager of the Dutch national team, however her move came sooner.

Leaving was a surprising shift, but “I had decided to leave the FA quite a long time ago”, Van Ginhoven explains. “I had a contract lasting four years, similar to Veurink and Wiegman had. Upon their extension, I previously indicated I was uncertain whether I would. I was already used to the whole idea that following the tournament I would no longer be involved with the national team.”

The Euros was a sentimental competition because of this. “I remember very clearly, vividly, speaking with Sarina when I disclosed of my choice and after which we agreed: ‘We share a single dream, how amazing would it be that we win the Euros?’ Generally, it's rare that hopes materialize often however, against the odds, ours came true.”

Sitting in an orange T-shirt, Van Ginhoven experiences split allegiances post her tenure with the English team, during which she contributed to claiming two Euros in a row and served on Wiegman’s staff when the Netherlands won at Euro 2017.

“The English side will always hold an emotional connection for me. Therefore, it will be challenging, particularly now knowing that the players are due to arrive for national team duty in the near future,” she comments. “Whenever the two nations face off, which side do I back? Today I have on orange, but tomorrow it’s white.”

In a speedboat, you can pivot and accelerate swiftly. In a lean group like this one, that is simple to achieve.

The club was not initially considered when the strategic expert concluded that a new chapter was needed, but the opportunity arose opportunely. The chief executive started to bring people in and common principles were key.

“Virtually from the start we connected we had that click moment,” says she. “There was immediate understanding. Our conversations have been thorough on various topics around how you grow the game and our shared vision for the right approach.”

The two leaders are among several to relocate from well-known positions in Europe's football scene for a blank sheet of paper across the Atlantic. Atlético Madrid’s women’s technical director, Patricia González, has been announced as Bay Collective’s new global sporting director.

“I felt strongly drawn in the deep faith regarding the strength within the female sport,” González comments. “I have known Kay Cossington for many years; during my tenure at Fifa, she was the technical director of England, and decisions like this come naturally when you are aware you will have around you people who really inspire you.”

The depth of knowledge among their staff makes them unique, says Van Ginhoven, as Bay Collective part of a group recent multi-team projects which have emerged in recent years. “That’s one of our unique selling points. Various methods are valid, but we are firm in our belief in incorporating football expertise,” she adds. “All three of us have been on a journey in female football, throughout our careers.”

According to their online statement, the goal of Bay Collective is to advocate and innovate a progressive and sustainable ecosystem of women’s football clubs, based on what works to meet the varied requirements of women in sport. Doing that, with everyone on the same page, eliminating the need for persuasion for specific initiatives, is hugely liberating.

“I compare it with transitioning from a tanker to a speedboat,” states she. “You're journeying through waters that there are no roadmaps for – a common Dutch expression, I'm unsure if it translates well – and you just need to rely on your personal insight and skills for making correct choices. You can change direction and move quickly using a speedboat. Within a compact team such as ours, that is simple to achieve.”

She notes: “In this role, we have a completely white sheet of paper to work from. In my view, what we do focuses on impacting football on a wider scale and that blank slate permits you to undertake anything you desire, within the rules of the game. That is the advantage of what we are building together.”

The ambition is high, the management are expressing sentiments athletes and supporters hope to hear and it will be fascinating to monitor the progress of this organization, the club and future additions to the group.

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