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Midweek, Bay Collective disclosed the recruitment of Anja van Ginhoven, the English national team's general manager working with Sarina Wiegman, as their director of global women’s football operations. The new multi-club ownership body, featuring San Francisco’s Bay FC as the inaugural team in its portfolio, has previously engaged in hiring individuals from the national football governing body.

The appointment this year of Cossington, the influential former FA technical director, as top executive acted as a clear statement by the collective. Cossington understands women’s football thoroughly and currently she has assembled an executive team with profound insight of women’s football history and filled with professional background.

She becomes the third key figure of Wiegman’s setup to depart in the current year, with the chief executive departing before the Euros and the assistant manager, Veurink, leaving to become head coach of Holland, but her decision came sooner.

Leaving was a shock to the system, but “I’d taken my decision to exit the national setup quite a long time ago”, she says. “The terms lasting four years, exactly like Arjan and Sarina had. Upon their extension, I had already said I wasn't sure about renewing myself. I had accepted the whole idea that following the tournament my time with England would end.”

The Euros was an emotional tournament due to that. “I remember very clearly, vividly, having a conversation with the head coach when I disclosed about my decision and we then remarked: ‘We share a single dream, what a triumph it would represent that we win the Euros?’ Generally, it’s not like aspirations are realized frequently however, absolutely incredibly, this one did.”

Sitting in an orange T-shirt, she experiences split allegiances after her time working in England, where she was part of claiming two Euros in a row and served on Wiegman’s staff when the Netherlands won at Euro 2017.

“England will always hold a special place in my heart. Therefore, it will be difficult, especially with the knowledge that the squad will be arriving for national team duty soon,” she comments. “Whenever the two nations face off, who do I support? I’m wearing orange at the moment, though tomorrow English white.”

In a speedboat, you can pivot and accelerate swiftly. In a lean group like this one, that’s easily done.

The American side was not part of the equation when the organisational wizard was deciding it was time to move on, however the pieces fell into place at the right time. Cossington initiated the recruitment and mutual beliefs proved essential.

“Virtually from the start we connected we felt immediate synergy,” says she. “There was immediate understanding. Our conversations have been thorough about different things concerning growing the sport and our shared vision for the right approach.”

Cossington and Van Ginhoven are not the only figures to uproot themselves from high-profile jobs within European football for a blank sheet of paper in the US. Atlético Madrid’s female football technical lead, González, has been announced as the group's global sporting director.

“I was highly interested in the deep faith regarding the strength of the women’s game,” González explains. “I have known Kay Cossington for a long time; back when I was with Fifa, she held the technical director role for England, and it’s easy to make these decisions when you are aware you will have around you colleagues who drive you.”

The extensive expertise among their staff makes them unique, notes Van Ginhoven, for the collective one of several recent multi-team projects to launch in recent years. “It's a standout feature of our approach. Different approaches are acceptable, however we strongly feel in ensuring deep football understanding,” she says. “The entire leadership have been on a journey in women’s football, throughout our careers.”

As outlined on their site, the goal for the collective is to support and lead an advanced and lasting environment of women’s football clubs, based on what works addressing the different demands of women. 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 moving from a large ship to a fast boat,” remarks she. “You are essentially navigating across unmapped territories – that’s a Dutch saying, I don’t know if it translates – and you just need to rely on your own knowledge and expertise to choose wisely. Adjusting course and speeding up is possible with a speedboat. In a lean group like this, that is simple to achieve.”

She continues: “Here, we have a completely white sheet of paper to work from. In my view, our work involves shaping the sport on a much broader level and that white paper allows you to do whatever you want, adhering to football's guidelines. That is the advantage of what we are building together.”

The aspirations are significant, those in leading roles are voicing opinions athletes and supporters are eager to hear and it will be fascinating to follow the development of the collective, the club and any clubs added to the portfolio.

For a flavour of what is to come, what are the key aspects for a top-level environment? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve