This past Wednesday, this new ownership entity disclosed the recruitment of Anja van Ginhoven, the English national team's general manager under head coach Sarina Wiegman, as their director of global women’s football operations. This freshly established multi-team ownership group, which includes the San Francisco-based Bay FC as the inaugural team in its portfolio, has prior experience in bringing in talent from the Football Association.
The hiring this year of Cossington, the well-respected former FA technical director, to the CEO role acted as a signal of intent by the collective. She understands female football inside out and now has put together an executive team with a deep understanding of the evolution of the women's game and packed with experience.
Van Ginhoven becomes the third key figure of Wiegman's coaching team to exit in the current year, following Cossington exiting prior to Euro 2025 and assistant coach, Arjan Veurink, leaving to take up the role of head coach of the Dutch national team, however her move was made earlier.
Moving on was a shock to the system, yet “I’d taken my decision to exit the national setup quite a long time ago”, Van Ginhoven explains. “The terms for four years, exactly like the assistant and head coach did. When they renewed, I had expressed I was uncertain about renewing myself. I was already used to the whole idea that following the tournament I wouldn’t be part of England any more.”
The European Championship became a sentimental tournament due to that. “I remember very clearly, vividly, discussing with Sarina where I basically told her regarding my plans and we then remarked: ‘There’s just one dream, how amazing would it be to clinch the European title?’ Generally, it’s not like aspirations are realized frequently yet, absolutely incredibly, this one did.”
Dressed in orange, Van Ginhoven has divided loyalties following her stint with the English team, during which she contributed to securing consecutive European championships and was a part of Wiegman’s staff when the Netherlands won the 2017 Euros.
“The English side will forever have an emotional connection for me. So, it will be difficult, notably since that the squad are due to arrive for the upcoming fixtures soon,” she comments. “Whenever the two nations face off, which side do I back? Today I have on orange, though tomorrow English white.”
A speedboat allows for rapid direction changes. In a lean group like this one, that is simple to achieve.
Bay FC was not initially considered as the strategic expert was deciding that it was time for a change, but the pieces fell into place at the right time. The chief executive began assembling the team and their shared values were crucial.
“Essentially upon meeting we got together we experienced an instant connection,” says Van Ginhoven. “There was immediate understanding. Our conversations have been thorough on various topics related to developing women's football and what we think is the right way.”
Cossington and Van Ginhoven are not the only figures to uproot themselves from high-profile jobs in Europe's football scene for a blank sheet of paper across the Atlantic. The Spanish club's women’s technical director, Patricia González, has been announced as the group's global sporting director.
“I was highly interested by the firm conviction of the power within the female sport,” González explains. “I'm familiar with Cossington for many years; when I used to work at Fifa, she served as England's technical director, and decisions like this come naturally when you are aware you are going to be surrounded by colleagues who drive you.”
The depth of knowledge within their group makes them unique, notes she, with Bay Collective among a number recent multi-team projects that have started lately. “This is a key differentiator for us. It’s OK that people do things in different ways, however we strongly feel in having that football knowledge on board,” she states. “The entire leadership have progressed in women’s football, for most of our lives.”
As their website states, the mission of this group is to champion and pioneer a forward-thinking and durable system within female football clubs, built on proven methods for the diverse needs of women. Succeeding in this, with everyone on the same page, eliminating the need for persuasion regarding certain decisions, is incredibly freeing.
“I equate it to transitioning from a tanker to a speedboat,” says Van Ginhoven. “You’re basically driving in uncharted waters – that’s a Dutch saying, I don’t know if it translates – and it's necessary to trust your own knowledge and expertise to choose wisely. You can pivot and accelerate rapidly with a speedboat. In a lean group like this, that is simple to achieve.”
She notes: “Here, we begin with a clean canvas to work from. Personally, our work is about influencing the game on a wider scale and that blank slate allows you to do any direction you choose, following the sport's regulations. That is the advantage of what we are building together.”
Their goals are lofty, the executives are expressing sentiments players and fans hope to hear and it will be interesting to monitor the progress of this organization, Bay FC and any clubs added to the portfolio.
To get a sense of future plans, what factors are essential for a top-level environment? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve
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