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On Wednesday, this new ownership entity revealed the recruitment of Van Ginhoven, the English national team's managerial lead under head coach Sarina Wiegman, taking on the role of overseer of worldwide women's football activities. The new collective club ownership initiative, with San Francisco’s Bay FC as its initial addition among its holdings, has a history in recruiting from the Football Association.

The appointment earlier this year of Kay Cossington, the prominent previous technical director at the Football Association, as the chief executive was a signal of intent by the collective. Cossington knows the women's game inside out and currently has put together a management group that possesses extensive knowledge of the history of women's football and packed with practical experience.

She marks the third central staffer of the manager's inner circle to leave this year, following the chief executive leaving before the European Championships and assistant coach, Veurink, leaving to become manager of the Netherlands, however Van Ginhoven's choice was made earlier.

Stepping away proved to be a shock to the system, but “My choice was made to depart the Football Association quite a long time ago”, she explains. “The terms lasting four years, just as Veurink and Wiegman had. Upon their extension, I had expressed I didn’t know whether I would. I had grown accustomed to the thought that post-Euros my time with England would end.”

The tournament became an emotional competition as a result. “It's sharp in my memory, having a conversation with the head coach when I disclosed about my decision and after which we agreed: ‘There’s just one dream, how amazing would it be to clinch the European title?’ Generally, it’s not like dreams come true often however, absolutely incredibly, this one did.”

Sitting in an orange T-shirt, she experiences split allegiances post her tenure with the English team, where she helped achieve winning back-to-back European titles and was a part of the manager's team during the Dutch victory at Euro 2017.

“The English side will always hold a special place in my heart. So, it will be challenging, especially with the knowledge that the team will be arriving for the upcoming fixtures in the near future,” she says. “In matches between England and the Netherlands, which side do I back? I’m wearing orange at the moment, but tomorrow I'll be in white.”

A speedboat allows for rapid direction changes. With a compact team such as ours, that’s easily done.

The American side was not in the plans when the management specialist determined it was time to move on, however everything aligned opportunely. Cossington initiated the recruitment and common principles proved essential.

“Essentially upon meeting we met we felt immediate synergy,” states Van Ginhoven. “There was immediate understanding. We've discussed extensively 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 uproot themselves from high-profile jobs within European football for a fresh start in the US. The Spanish club's female football technical lead, González, has been unveiled as Bay Collective’s new global sporting director.

“I was highly interested by the firm conviction of the power of the women’s game,” González explains. “I have known Kay Cossington for a long time; when I used to work at Fifa, she was the technical director of England, and such choices are straightforward when you are aware you are going to be surrounded by colleagues who drive you.”

The depth of knowledge in their team distinguishes them, says she, for the collective part of a group recent multi-team projects which have emerged over the past few years. “That’s one of our unique selling points. It’s OK that people do things in different ways, but we are firm in our belief in incorporating football expertise,” she adds. “The entire leadership have been on a journey within the women's game, for most of our lives.”

According to their online statement, the ambition for the collective is to support and lead a progressive and sustainable ecosystem for women's football clubs, based on what works to meet the varied requirements of female athletes. Succeeding in this, with everyone on the same page, eliminating the need for persuasion for why you would take certain actions, provides great freedom.

“I equate it to moving from a large ship to a fast boat,” states Van Ginhoven. “You are essentially navigating in uncharted waters – as we say in the Netherlands, 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.”

González notes: “Here, we start with a blank slate to build upon. For me, what we do involves shaping the sport more extensively and that clean start enables you to pursue whatever you want, following the sport's regulations. This is the appeal of our joint endeavor.”

The aspirations are significant, those in leading roles are expressing sentiments athletes and supporters want to hear and it will be interesting to observe the evolution of the collective, the club and other teams that may join.

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