🔗 Share this article

This past Wednesday, this new ownership entity revealed the hiring of Van Ginhoven, England's managerial lead under head coach Sarina Wiegman, to serve as their global women's football operations director. This freshly established multi-team ownership group, featuring the San Francisco-based Bay FC as the first club in its portfolio, has a history in recruiting from the Football Association.

The hiring in recent months of Cossington, the prominent former FA technical director, as top executive served as a signal of intent from this organization. She knows women’s football inside out and now has put together a leadership team with profound insight of the evolution of the women's game and packed with practical experience.

Van Ginhoven becomes the third key figure of Wiegman’s setup to leave recently, following Cossington leaving before Euro 2025 and deputy manager, Veurink, moving on to take up the role of head coach of Holland, but her move came sooner.

Stepping away has been a surprising shift, yet “My choice was made to leave the FA some time back”, Van Ginhoven states. “My agreement lasting four years, similar to the assistant and head coach did. Upon their extension, I had expressed I was uncertain whether I would. I had accepted the whole idea that post-Euros I wouldn’t be part of England any more.”

The European Championship turned into a deeply felt tournament due to that. “I recall distinctly, having a conversation with Sarina where I basically told her about my decision and after which we agreed: ‘Our ultimate aspiration, how incredible it would be that we win the Euros?’ In reality, it's rare that dreams come true every day however, against the odds, this one did.”

Dressed in orange, Van Ginhoven has divided loyalties following her stint in England, where she was part of securing consecutive European championships and worked within the coaching setup during the Dutch victory at Euro 2017.

“The English side will forever have a special place in my heart. Therefore, it’s going to be tough, especially with the knowledge that the team will be arriving for the upcoming fixtures soon,” she says. “When England plays the Netherlands, where do my loyalties lie? I’m wearing orange at the moment, but tomorrow I'll be in white.”

A speedboat allows for rapid direction changes. In a small team like this, it's effortless to accomplish.

The club was not initially considered as the management specialist was deciding it was time to move on, but the pieces fell into place at the right time. Cossington initiated the recruitment and their shared values proved essential.

“Almost from the very first moment we met we felt immediate synergy,” states she. “There was immediate understanding. We've discussed extensively on various topics related to developing women's football and the methods we believe are correct.”

Cossington and Van Ginhoven are not alone to uproot themselves from well-known positions in the European game for a fresh start across the Atlantic. The Spanish club's women’s technical director, Patricia González, has been announced as Bay Collective’s new global sporting director.

“I was very attracted to that strong belief regarding the strength of the women’s game,” González explains. “I've been acquainted with Kay Cossington for many years; back when I was with Fifa, she held the technical director role for England, and decisions like this come naturally knowing you'll be working alongside colleagues who drive you.”

The extensive expertise among their staff sets them apart, explains Van Ginhoven, for the collective part of a group new multi-club initiatives that have started in recent years. “That’s one of our unique selling points. Various methods are valid, but we are firm in our belief in ensuring deep football understanding,” she adds. “All three of us have progressed within the women's game, for most of our lives.”

As outlined on their site, the ambition of Bay Collective is to support and lead a forward-thinking and durable system for women's football clubs, built on proven methods to meet the varied requirements of women in sport. Achieving this, with collective agreement, with no need to make the case for specific initiatives, provides great freedom.

“I compare it with transitioning from a tanker to a speedboat,” remarks Van Ginhoven. “You are essentially navigating across unmapped territories – as we say in the Netherlands, not sure how it comes across – and it's necessary to trust your individual understanding and experience to choose wisely. Adjusting course and speeding up is possible with a speedboat. In a small team like this, that is simple to achieve.”

She continues: “In this role, we start with a blank slate to build upon. For me, what we do focuses on impacting football on a much broader level and that clean start permits you to undertake whatever you want, within the rules of the game. That is the advantage of our collective project.”

The aspirations are significant, the management are expressing sentiments athletes and supporters are eager to hear and it will be interesting to monitor the progress of Bay Collective, the team and any clubs added to the portfolio.

As a preview of upcoming developments, 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