'Our role is integral to football's future' - newly appointed regulator the new chairman
Sheffield Wednesday's current difficulties constitute a "serious issue" and the new football authority is seeking powers to investigate clubs in such situations, its new chair the regulator has announced.
Through a comprehensive talk, the chairman, who was appointed on Monday, voiced concern towards the club's followers.
Kogan met with four fan organizations connected to the football team this week.
The Championship side have been struggling on and off the field in 2025, with the club delaying salary disbursements on five separate occasions, including in the autumn.
"Obviously the club has become a serious issue for football authorities and a major challenge for the sport," the chairman stated.
"Wednesday stands as one of the iconic names for football in England and this week we have met fan representatives.
"Our aim is to acquire the ability... which will permit us to bring Wednesday and comparable cases referred to us if they warrant scrutiny and dealt with."
Financial Struggles and Proprietorship Status
The club's controversial proprietor the Thai businessman indicated in the summer he would be willing to sell up at the stadium, but he has not been able to secure a deal with interested parties.
Failure to pay player wages on time in spring months caused limitations by the football authorities in mid-year, preventing the club from carrying out any recruitment activities for the subsequent signing windows, although that restriction was lifted in August.
Regulator's Perspective
The chairman stated: "The job [of the regulator] is there for the Owls followers, teams facing challenges where supporters are loyal to a community organization that has represented their community in many cases.
"I have absolute sympathy for the club's situation, as I do for each organization that in modern times have encountered failure, or nearly ceased operations, for reasons that have nothing to do with the fans themselves."
Inquired if the regulator could force an owner to sell a club if they are deemed unsuitable, Kogan said: "Should the inquiry concern 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the reply is once we gather the evidence and know what's going on, we will."
But the regulator clarified that compelling proprietors to divest clubs would be considered the final option and the oversight body would choose to cooperate with proprietors.
"The final option we would consider is start getting involved with an particular organization, an individual owner, without being in a position to cooperate with that owner to try and resolve the issues that the club's facing and the owner's facing," the regulator explained.
"However, realistically, when you review the record of the sport, over the recent generations there have been certain proprietors, few in number, but particular people who have shown negligence in the approach they have taken toward their teams and eventually refuse to accept accountability for the coming years."
Wednesday followers have been voicing opposition to owner Dejphon Chansiri this season
'If we get it wrong, extraordinary progress vanishes'
Kogan met with delegates from multiple organizations to explain the responsibilities of the authority recently and stated it constituted a "forward-thinking discussion" with a "significant participation" from the grassroots to elite level.
"The role holds considerable importance, because should mistakes occur, if the world of football gets it wrong, the extraordinary progress that's been made might evaporate rapidly," the chairman stated.
"This represents everyone's worst fear in the context of the English game is a substantial accomplishment - we've got to keep it going.
"There's an enormous amount of money coming into football and has come into football for the past two decades, because there's no guarantee it will keep flowing into the sport, which is among the factors explaining I think we have to take a really clear view on potential dangers and naturally, of the immediate future."
Elite Division Worries
The Premier League opposed the formation of an authority because of apprehensions regarding adverse consequences on the elite division's competitive balance, but the chairman responded: "I fully support the prosperity and expansion as an economic entity of the Premier League.
"I of all people understand the apprehension regarding damaging the Premier League as a premium product of England. But concurrently, if you talk to the Premier League after this week's discussion, they would have had a significant degree of comfort -and, in fact, they have been informing us confidentially they have a considerable comfort."
Partisan Associations
The chairman continues to confront a "comprehensive investigation" by the official appointments authority after he revealed he contributed money to the political party in 2020.
The chairman contributed funds to Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy's leadership campaign, along with that of the now Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
"I've been completely open about my past party membership [with Labour], and that political affiliation came to an end the day the select committee approved my appointment," the regulator explained.
"I am presently disconnected from any form of political activity."
