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On Wednesday, this new ownership entity announced the appointment of Van Ginhoven, England's general manager under Sarina Wiegman, as their overseer of worldwide women's football activities. This new multi-team ownership group, which includes Bay FC of San Francisco as the initial addition in its portfolio, has a history in recruiting from the Football Association.

The appointment in recent months of Kay Cossington, the prominent former FA technical director, as top executive was a signal of intent from the collective. Cossington is deeply familiar with female football comprehensively and now has put together a leadership team with a deep understanding of the evolution of the women's game and filled with practical experience.

Van Ginhoven marks the third key figure of the manager's inner circle to depart recently, following the chief executive leaving before the European Championships and deputy manager, Arjan Veurink, moving on to take up the role of manager of Holland, however her decision was made earlier.

Leaving has been a jarring experience, yet “I had decided to exit the national setup some time back”, she explains. “I had a contract lasting four years, exactly like Arjan and Sarina did. As they re-signed, I had expressed I didn’t know whether I would. I had grown accustomed to the whole idea that after the European Championship my time with England would end.”

The Euros turned into a deeply felt competition as a result. “It's sharp in my memory, speaking with the head coach where I basically told her of my choice and after which we agreed: ‘Our ultimate aspiration, how amazing would it be that we win the Euros?’ In life, dreams don't dreams come true frequently however, against the odds, this one did.”

Sitting in an orange T-shirt, she has divided loyalties after her time working in England, during which she contributed to winning back-to-back European titles and served on the coaching setup during the Dutch victory at Euro 2017.

“The English side will always hold an emotional connection for me. Therefore, it will be challenging, especially with the knowledge that the squad are due to arrive for national team duty shortly,” she notes. “Whenever the two nations face off, where do my loyalties lie? Today I have on orange, but tomorrow it’s white.”

In a speedboat, you can pivot and accelerate swiftly. With a compact team such as ours, that’s easily done.

Bay FC was not in the plans when the management specialist was deciding it was time to move on, however the pieces fell into place at the right time. The chief executive began assembling the team and mutual beliefs were key.

“Almost from the very first moment we met we had that click moment,” says she. “We were instantly aligned. We have spoken at length regarding multiple aspects concerning growing the sport and our shared vision for the right approach.”

These executives are among several to relocate from high-profile jobs within European football for a blank sheet of paper in the United States. The Spanish club's women’s technical director, Patricia González, has been unveiled as the group's worldwide sports director.

“I was very attracted to that strong belief in the potential of women's football,” González says. “I have known Kay Cossington for a long time; back when I was with Fifa, she served as England's technical director, and it’s easy to make these decisions knowing you'll be working alongside colleagues who drive you.”

The extensive expertise among their staff sets them apart, notes Van Ginhoven, as Bay Collective one of several fresh club ownership ventures to launch lately. “That’s one of our unique selling points. Different approaches are acceptable, but we are firm in our belief in incorporating football expertise,” she says. “The entire leadership have progressed in female football, for most of our lives.”

As their website states, the mission for the collective is to advocate and innovate an advanced and lasting environment for women's football clubs, founded on effective practices for the diverse needs 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 liken it to going from a tanker to a speedboat,” states Van Ginhoven. “You are essentially navigating in uncharted waters – that’s a Dutch saying, not sure how it comes across – and it's necessary to trust your own knowledge and expertise to choose wisely. You can pivot and accelerate rapidly with a speedboat. In a lean group like this, that is simple to achieve.”

She continues: “In this role, we start with a blank slate to start with. For me, our work is about influencing the game on a wider scale and that blank slate enables you to pursue any direction you choose, within the rules of the game. That is the advantage of what we are building together.”

Their goals are lofty, the executives are voicing opinions players and fans want to hear and it will be compelling to follow the development of Bay Collective, Bay FC and other teams that may join.

To get a sense of future plans, 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