🔗 Share this article

On Wednesday, Bay Collective announced the recruitment of Anja van Ginhoven, England's general manager under Sarina Wiegman, to serve as their global women's football operations director. The new collective club ownership initiative, which includes the San Francisco-based Bay FC as its first club in its portfolio, has a history in hiring individuals from the national football governing body.

The appointment this year of Cossington, the prominent previous technical director at the Football Association, as top executive served as a clear statement by Bay Collective. Cossington knows the women's game thoroughly and currently she has assembled a leadership team that possesses extensive knowledge of the history of women's football and packed with professional background.

She is the third key figure of the manager's inner circle to leave this year, with the chief executive exiting prior to Euro 2025 and the assistant manager, Arjan Veurink, moving on to become manager of Holland, however her decision was made earlier.

Leaving was a surprising shift, but “I had decided to exit the national setup well in advance”, Van Ginhoven explains. “My agreement covering four years, similar to Veurink and Wiegman did. When they renewed, I had already said I wasn't sure about renewing myself. I was already used to the notion that following the tournament I wouldn’t be part of England any more.”

The European Championship became a deeply felt event due to that. “I recall distinctly, speaking with the head coach when I disclosed of my choice and we then remarked: ‘Our ultimate aspiration, how incredible it would be if we were to win the European Championship?’ In life, dreams don't dreams come true often however, absolutely incredibly, this one did.”

Wearing a Netherlands-colored shirt, she holds dual affections following her stint with the English team, during which she contributed to claiming two Euros in a row and was a part of Wiegman’s staff when the Netherlands won in the 2017 European Championship.

“The English side will always hold a special place in my heart. Therefore, it will be challenging, particularly now knowing that the players are due to arrive for the international camp in the near future,” she notes. “Whenever the two nations face off, 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. In a small team like this, that’s easily done.

Bay FC was not initially considered as the strategic expert concluded that a new chapter was needed, but everything aligned at the right time. The chief executive started to bring people in and common principles proved essential.

“Almost from the very first moment we met we experienced an instant connection,” states she. “You’re immediately on the same level. Our conversations have been thorough on various topics concerning growing the sport and what we think is the right way.”

The two leaders are among several to relocate from high-profile jobs in the European game for a fresh start in the US. The Spanish club's technical director for women's football, González, has been announced as the organization's new global sporting director.

“I was very attracted in the deep faith of the power of women's football,” she comments. “I'm familiar with Cossington for many years; during my tenure at Fifa, she served as England's technical director, and it’s easy to make these decisions when you know you'll be working alongside individuals who motivate you.”

The depth of knowledge among their staff sets them apart, explains Van Ginhoven, for the collective one of several fresh club ownership ventures that have started over the past few years. “It's a standout feature of our approach. It’s OK that people do things in different ways, but we definitely believe in having that football knowledge on board,” she adds. “The entire leadership have been on a journey within the women's game, for most of our lives.”

As their website states, the goal of this group is to advocate and innovate an advanced and lasting environment of women’s football clubs, built on proven methods addressing the different demands of female athletes. Achieving this, with everyone on the same page, without having to justify actions for why you would take certain actions, is hugely liberating.

“I equate it to moving from a large ship to a fast boat,” states she. “You’re basically driving across unmapped territories – a common Dutch expression, I'm unsure if it translates well – and you must depend on your personal insight and skills for making correct choices. You can pivot and accelerate rapidly with a speedboat. Within a compact team such as ours, it's straightforward to accomplish.”

González adds: “Here, we begin with a clean canvas to start with. In my view, our mission is about influencing the game on a much broader level and that clean start permits you to undertake whatever you want, following the sport's regulations. That’s the beauty of our collective project.”

The ambition is high, those in leading roles are expressing sentiments players and fans are eager to hear and it will be fascinating to follow the development of the collective, Bay FC and any clubs added to the portfolio.

As a preview of upcoming developments, what are the key aspects of a high-performance environment? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve