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On Wednesday, this new ownership entity disclosed the recruitment of Van Ginhoven, the English national team's managerial lead working with Sarina Wiegman, as their overseer of worldwide women's football activities. The new collective club ownership initiative, featuring San Francisco’s Bay FC as the inaugural team in its portfolio, has a history in hiring individuals from the Football Association.

The appointment in recent months of Cossington, the influential former FA technical director, as top executive acted as a signal of intent from the collective. She knows female football inside out and now has put together a management group with a deep understanding of the evolution of the women's game and laden with experience.

Van Ginhoven becomes the third central staffer of Wiegman's coaching team to leave this year, following Cossington departing prior to the European Championships and the assistant manager, Veurink, stepping down to become head manager of the Dutch national team, but her move was made earlier.

Stepping away was a surprising shift, yet “I’d taken my decision to leave the FA quite a long time ago”, she explains. “I had a contract covering four years, just as Arjan and Sarina had. Upon their extension, I had already said I wasn't sure about renewing myself. I had grown accustomed to the thought that following the tournament I would no longer be involved with the national team.”

The Euros became a deeply felt competition because of this. “I recall distinctly, discussing with the head coach where I basically told her regarding my plans and we then remarked: ‘Our ultimate aspiration, how amazing would it be if we were to win the European Championship?’ Generally, it’s not like dreams come true frequently yet, absolutely incredibly, it actually happened.”

Dressed in orange, she has divided loyalties after her time with the English team, where she was part of securing consecutive European championships and served on the manager's team when the Netherlands won in the 2017 European Championship.

“England will always hold a special place in my heart. So, it’s going to be tough, particularly now knowing that the squad will be arriving for national team duty shortly,” she notes. “In matches between England and the Netherlands, who do I support? Right now I'm in Dutch colors, though tomorrow English white.”

A speedboat allows for rapid direction changes. With a compact team such as ours, it's effortless to accomplish.

The American side was not part of the equation as the organisational wizard was deciding it was time to move on, however the pieces fell into place perfectly. Cossington initiated the recruitment and common principles were crucial.

“Virtually from the start we got together we had that click moment,” remarks she. “You’re immediately on the same level. We've discussed extensively about different things concerning growing the sport and the methods we believe are correct.”

Cossington and Van Ginhoven are among several to relocate from high-profile jobs in Europe's football scene for a fresh start in the United States. The Spanish club's women’s technical director, González, has been introduced as the group's global sporting director.

“I felt strongly drawn to that strong belief in the potential of the women’s game,” she comments. “I've been acquainted with Kay Cossington for many years; when I used to work at Fifa, she served as England's technical director, and it’s easy to make these decisions knowing you will have around you individuals who motivate you.”

The depth of knowledge in their team distinguishes them, explains Van Ginhoven, for the collective among a number new multi-club initiatives to launch over the past few years. “It's a standout feature of our approach. It’s OK that people do things in different ways, however we strongly feel in having that football knowledge on board,” she says. “The entire leadership have been on a journey within the women's game, probably for the best part of our lives.”

As their website states, the ambition of this group is to champion and pioneer an advanced and lasting environment for women's football clubs, built on proven methods addressing the different demands of female athletes. Achieving this, with collective agreement, without having to justify actions for specific initiatives, provides great freedom.

“I compare it with going from a tanker to a speedboat,” remarks she. “You're journeying in uncharted waters – a common Dutch expression, not sure how it comes across – and you just need to rely on your individual understanding and experience to make the right decision. You can pivot and accelerate rapidly using a speedboat. Within a compact team such as ours, that’s easily done.”

She notes: “In this role, we start with a blank slate to start with. In my view, what we do focuses on impacting football on a wider scale and that white paper allows you to do any direction you choose, adhering to football's guidelines. That’s the beauty of what we are building together.”

The aspirations are significant, the management are expressing sentiments athletes and supporters are eager to hear and it will be fascinating to follow the development of this organization, the club and other teams that may join.

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