'We are going to be a part of football's future' - newly appointed regulator David Kogan
Sheffield Wednesday's current difficulties represent a a "significant problem" and the football regulator is looking to gain the ability to look into club affairs in comparable cases, its new chair the regulator has stated.
During an extensive discussion, Kogan, who was appointed on Monday, expressed "sympathy" towards the club's followers.
The chairman convened with four supporter groups connected to the Championship side in recent days.
The Championship side have been experiencing difficulties in multiple areas in 2025, with the club missing wage payments on five separate occasions, including in September.
"Obviously the club has become a serious issue for football authorities and a significant problem for football," Kogan told.
"Sheffield Wednesday is one of the iconic names for English football and in recent days we have met fan representatives.
"We're now looking to get powers... which will allow us to have Wednesday and comparable cases referred to us if they warrant scrutiny and dealt with."
Financial Struggles and Leadership Concerns
The team's struggling chairman the Thai businessman indicated in the summer he would be open to selling the club at the stadium, but he has been unable to finalize an agreement with prospective buyers.
Missed wage deadlines on time in March and May resulted in restrictions being imposed by the league officials in mid-year, blocking the team from conducting any recruitment activities for the next three transfer windows, although that restriction was lifted in late summer.
Official's Viewpoint
Kogan said: "The job [of the regulator] is there for the supporters of Wednesday, Bury or any football club where people are committed to a community organization that has represented their community in numerous instances.
"I completely understand Sheffield Wednesday, as I do for each organization that in modern times have encountered failure, or approached financial ruin, for causes separate from the followers."
Questioned about whether the regulator could force an chairman to relinquish a club if they are deemed unsuitable, Kogan said: "If your question is 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the answer is once we assemble the facts and comprehend the circumstances, we will."
But the chairman emphasized that requiring chairmen to relinquish clubs would be considered the final option and the regulator would prefer to work with them.
"The final option we would consider is commence engagement with an individual club, an particular chairman, without having the opportunity to collaborate with that owner to try and resolve the challenges confronting the team and the proprietor's dealing with," the chairman stated.
"In actuality, when you examine the past of football, over the last 20 or 30 years there have been particular chairmen, a small minority, but particular people who have shown negligence in the way which they've been managing their organizations and finally don't wish to take responsibility for the future."
Owls fans have been protesting against owner Dejphon Chansiri this season
'If we get it wrong, extraordinary progress vanishes'
Kogan met with delegates from multiple organizations to lay out the remit of the oversight body this week and insisted it was a "progressive gathering" with a "high level of engagement" from the grassroots to elite level.
"It's a job that's actually really important, because should mistakes occur, if the sport makes errors, the significant advances achieved necessary will vanish swiftly," the regulator warned.
"And that's what nobody wants in the context of the English game is a major achievement - we need to continue the progress.
"There's an enormous amount of money entering the sport and has come into football for the recent generations, because there are no assurances it will keep flowing into the sport, which is part of the rationale behind I think we have to take a really clear view on challenges and obviously, of the coming seasons."
Elite Division Worries
Top flight officials resisted the formation of an authority because of concerns about detrimental effects on the top-flight's competitiveness, but Kogan said: "I completely endorse the success and growth as an financial organization of the top division.
"Being fully aware of the concern of undermining the Premier League as a premium product of the nation. But at the same time, if you engage with division representatives after the recent gathering, they would have had a substantial amount of confidence -and, actually, they have been advising us privately they have a significant confidence."
Partisan Associations
Kogan is still facing a "full inquiry" by the official appointments authority after he acknowledged providing funds to the political party in recent years.
The chairman donated money to government minister Lisa Nandy's leadership campaign, along with that of the government leader.
"I've been completely open about my past party membership [with Labour], and that ideological connection terminated the day the select committee approved my appointment," the regulator explained.
"I am no longer involved in any sort of politics."
