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Midweek, Bay Collective announced the recruitment of Van Ginhoven, England's managerial lead under Sarina Wiegman, taking on the role of global women's football operations director. This new multi-team ownership group, with San Francisco’s Bay FC as the inaugural team in its portfolio, has a history in hiring individuals from the Football Association.

The hiring earlier this year of Kay Cossington, the well-respected former FA technical director, as top executive served as a signal of intent by Bay Collective. Cossington knows the women's game thoroughly and currently has gathered an executive team that possesses extensive knowledge of the evolution of the women's game and filled with professional background.

She becomes the third key figure of the manager's inner circle to depart this year, following the chief executive leaving prior to Euro 2025 and assistant coach, Veurink, moving on to become head manager of the Netherlands, however her decision came sooner.

Leaving proved to be a jarring experience, yet “My choice was made to exit the national setup quite a long time ago”, she explains. “I had a contract for four years, just as Veurink and Wiegman did. When they renewed, I previously indicated I didn’t know whether I would. I had accepted the whole idea that after the European Championship I wouldn’t be part of England any more.”

The tournament became a deeply felt event due to that. “I recall distinctly, having a conversation with Sarina in which I informed her of my choice and then we said: ‘There’s just one dream, how amazing would it be if we were to win the European Championship?’ Generally, dreams don't aspirations are realized every day but, against the odds, ours came true.”

Wearing a Netherlands-colored shirt, Van Ginhoven has divided loyalties following her stint with the English team, where she was part of securing consecutive European championships and worked within the coaching setup during the Dutch victory in the 2017 European Championship.

“The English side will forever have a special place in my heart. Therefore, it will be difficult, notably since that the squad are due to arrive for the upcoming fixtures shortly,” she notes. “In matches between England and the Netherlands, which side do I back? Right now I'm in Dutch colors, but tomorrow I'll be in white.”

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

The American side was not part of the equation when the management specialist concluded it was time to move on, however everything aligned opportunely. The chief executive initiated the recruitment and their shared values were key.

“Essentially upon meeting we connected we had that click moment,” states Van Ginhoven. “We were instantly aligned. We have spoken at length 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 make a move from high-profile jobs in Europe's football scene for a blank sheet of paper across the Atlantic. Atlético Madrid’s female football technical lead, Patricia González, has been introduced as the organization's new global sporting director.

“I felt strongly drawn by the firm conviction regarding the strength of women's football,” González says. “I've been acquainted with Kay Cossington for many years; back when I was with Fifa, she served as England's technical director, and such choices are straightforward when you know you'll be working alongside people who really inspire you.”

The extensive expertise among their staff sets them apart, says she, with Bay Collective one of several new multi-club initiatives that have started in recent years. “It's a standout feature of our approach. It’s OK that people do things in different ways, but we are firm in our belief in ensuring deep football understanding,” she states. “The entire leadership have traveled a path in women’s football, for most of our lives.”

As outlined on their site, the goal of this group is to support and lead a forward-thinking and durable system for women's football clubs, based on what works addressing the different demands of female athletes. Doing that, with collective agreement, without having to justify actions regarding certain decisions, is hugely liberating.

“I compare it with moving from a large ship to a fast boat,” states Van Ginhoven. “You're journeying through waters that there are no roadmaps for – that’s a Dutch saying, I don’t know if it translates – and it's necessary to trust your personal insight and skills for making correct choices. Adjusting course and speeding up is possible with a speedboat. In a small team like this, that is simple to achieve.”

González continues: “With this opportunity, we have a completely white sheet of paper to start with. Personally, what we do focuses on impacting football more extensively and that clean start enables you to pursue whatever you want, adhering to football's guidelines. This is the appeal of our joint endeavor.”

The ambition is high, the executives are expressing sentiments the football community want to hear and it will be interesting to observe the evolution of this organization, the team and future additions to the group.

As a preview of upcoming developments, which elements are crucial for a top-level environment? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve