ABOUTOn Wednesday, Bay Collective announced the hiring of a general manager for the England national team, led by Sarina WigmanAnja van Ginhoven, as Director of Global Operations for Women's Football. The new multi-club entity, whose first portfolio is San Francisco Bay FC, has previously recruited staff from the Football Association.
This year's appointment of Kay Cossington, the FA's influential former technical director, as executive director was a signal of intent from the Bay Collective. Cossington knows women's football inside out and has now assembled a leadership team with a deep understanding of women's football history and a wealth of experience.
Van Geenhoven is the third key member of Wiegman's team to leave this year, with Cossington leaving ahead of Euro 2025 and assistant coach Arjan Weyrink leaving to become head coach of the Netherlands, but her decision came earlier.
The departure came as a shock to the system, but “I made the decision to leave the FA quite a long time ago,” says Van Ginhoven. “I had a four-year contract, like Aryan and Sarina. When they extended the contract, I already said that I don’t know if I will extend it. I’m already used to the idea that after the Euros I won’t be part of England anymore.”
As a result, the Euro became an emotional tournament. “I remember very clearly and vividly a conversation with Sarina in which I told her about my decision and then we said: “There is only one dream, how great would it be if we won the Euros?” In life, dreams don't come true every day, but, absolutely incredible, this one did“
Sitting in an orange shirt, Van Ginhoven shared loyalties following her time in England, where she was part of winning back-to-back European titles and was part of Wiegman's staff during the Netherlands' Euro 2017 triumph.
“England will always have a special place in my heart. So it will be tough, especially now that we know the players will be arriving at international camp soon,” she says. “When England play the Netherlands, who do I support? I'm wearing orange now, but tomorrow it will be white.”
Bay FC wasn't part of the equation when the organizational wizard decided it was time to move on, but at the right moment everything fell into place. Cossington began to attract people and their shared values were key.
“Almost from the very first moment we met, we had that click moment,” says Van Ginhoven. “You're on the same level straight away. We talked at length about different things about how you develop the game and what we think is right.”
Cossington and Van Ginhoven aren't the only figures to turn down high-profile jobs in the European game for a blank sheet of paper in the United States. Atlético Madrid women's technical director Patricia Gonzalez has been unveiled as the new global director of sport for the Bay Collective.
“I was really attracted to this strong belief in the power of the women’s game,” Gonzalez says. “I’ve known Kay Cossington for a long time; She was England's technical director when I was at FIFA, and it's easy to make those decisions when you know you'll be surrounded by people who really inspire you.”
What sets them apart, Van Ginhoven says, is the depth of knowledge of their team, and the Bay Collective is one of several new multi-club initiatives launched in recent years. “That's one of our unique selling points. It's normal that people do things differently, but we definitely believe in having football knowledge with you,” she says. “All three of them have been through probably the best part of their lives in women’s football.”
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According to their website, the Bay Collective's aim is to champion and create a progressive and sustainable women's football club ecosystem based on what meets the diverse needs of women. Doing this when everyone is on the same page, without having to justify why you will take a certain action, is hugely liberating.
“I compare it to going from a tanker to a speedboat,” says Van Ginhoven. “Essentially, you're sailing through waters for which there are no road maps – it's a Dutch saying, I don't know if it's translated – and you just have to rely on your own knowledge and experience to make the right decision. You can change direction and move quickly on a speedboat. With such a small team, it's easy to do.”
Gonzalez adds: “Here we have a completely white piece of paper to start with. To me, what we're doing is influencing the game on a much broader level, and that white paper allows you to do whatever you want within the rules of the game. That's the beauty of what we're building together.”
Ambitions are high, those in leadership positions are saying what players and fans want to hear, and it will be interesting to follow the development of Bay Collective, Bay FC and any clubs added to the portfolio.
To get an idea of what's coming next, what are the key aspects of a high-performance environment? “It all starts and ends with football and people,” says Van Ginhoven. “You can have the best hotel, the best training facility, but at the end of the day it's the people that make the difference because otherwise they're just empty shells. Having good people, good leadership and very clear roles and responsibilities are the three main things to create a really good high performance culture.”
Gonzalez adds: “It's very important to put the players at the center and that every decision made is for the benefit of the players and their development. A high-performance environment also requires a high level of trust. When you do that, people feel like they are in a safe environment to make decisions, to speak up, to share their opinions, and that's very important, and that's when special things happen.”
