The Former England Masterminds Looking To Build A 'superpower'

If thing useful successfully, it makes consciousness to effort it again.

When nan Lionesses won nan Euros successful 2022 and again successful 2025, a cardinal - if wide unheralded - characteristic was nan expertise of Kay Cossington and Anja van Ginhoven.

And nan erstwhile Football Association labor person since teamed up again astatine Bay Collective - a multi-club ownership organisation that invests successful women's shot globally.

Bay Collective is already nan mostly proprietor of American nine Bay FC - and has its sights group connected Europe next.

Cossington heads up nan cognition arsenic main executive officer, and recruited Van Ginhoven successful October arsenic head of world women's shot operations.

"We person large ambitions," Cossington told BBC Sport. "We had large ambitions astatine nan FA and we achieved them, truthful we're excited for this adjacent chapter."

Cossington and Van Ginhoven dream to return advantage of nan $115bn (£87bn) disposable to them via umbrella institution Sixth Street.

Their ambition is big, but elemental - to do everything they tin to thief their clubs triumph shot matches.

When Cossington, who described herself arsenic emotion for illustration "a kid successful nan candy store", was tasked pinch recruiting nan "best successful nan world", Van Ginhoven was apical of her list.

The erstwhile FA wide head worked pinch England head Sarina Wiegman crossed her 3 Euros title successes - first pinch the Netherlands successful 2017, past nan Lionesses successful 2022 and 2025.

As soon arsenic Cossington recovered retired Van Ginhoven's volition was not to widen her statement successful nan summer, she asked her to subordinate her successful San Francisco.

"We want to beryllium a world organisation that has levels and standards that are done nan roof," said Cossington. "We looked astatine nan very best.

"Anja and her skills are incredibly unique. She understands nan business broadside of a shot club, but besides nan capacity aspect.

"She has a proven way grounds of joining nan 2 together. She was successful that excavation of top, apical talent that we identified.

"It was besides a taste fit. To activity pinch personification who has nan aforesaid ambition, nan aforesaid values and is incredibly skilled astatine their job, it was an easy decision."

It was a large telephone for Van Ginhoven to time off nan FA having worked pinch Wiegman astatine Dutch nine Den Haag, arsenic good arsenic successful nan world game.

But she says Bay Collective is "everything she believes in" and she couldn't walk up nan opportunity to beryllium reunited pinch Cossington.

"It is astir utilizing nan characteristic of women's shot to build clubs and to make players better," Van Ginhoven told BBC Sport.

"If you are connected, you tin beryllium a superpower arsenic a team, a nine and an organisation to turn women's shot successful nan correct way.

"We travel from different countries, were raised successful different ways, but what brings america together is our travel successful women's shot and nan emotion for nan beautiful sport.

"We deliberation we tin bring our expertise successful to thief women's football. We really want to create nan athletics we some emotion truthful profoundly successful nan correct way."

Before starting her caller job, Van Ginhoven was capable to observe nan Lionesses' occurrence astatine Euro 2025.

"I took a fewer weeks to slow down a small bit," she said. "The first impressions person been unthinkable and we will do really cool things together."

Van Ginhoven recalled nan infinitesimal she told Wiegman she was leaving.

"We said: 'We person a dream - let's do everything and thing we tin to decorativeness connected a high.' Sometimes I still can't judge it really happened," she said.

"Sarina and I spell a agelong measurement back. What I learned nan astir from her is that she ne'er changed arsenic a person. You accommodate to nan situation, but that you tin genuinely beryllium that bully quality being pinch a high-level of values, nary matter what happens successful nan world astir you, I deliberation is ace important.

"I saw that very intimately and I will transportation that pinch maine for nan remainder of my life."

Cossington had near nan FA successful May, but had played a awesome domiciled successful nan logistics for their clip successful Switzerland.

Planning basecamps and travel, arranging friends guidance successful nan build-up, and making judge Wiegman's squad had each nan resources they needed were key.

As she reflects, she says she wasn't amazed by England's occurrence because they had group who "understood nan women's game" and believed successful a strategy.

"We conscionable obsessed complete nan processes - really we coached, really we played, really we operated, nan facilities, nan basecamps and everything else," she said.

"It wasn't conscionable nan 1% marginal gains, it was astir nan 100% gains. It was astir everything. We had a strategy that was designed by a group of group who lived nan women's crippled for years.

"That's why I beryllium present super-confident, knowing that if we return that aforesaid methodology into Bay Collective, we're going to beryllium connected nan correct path."