'We will play a key role in football's future' - newly appointed regulator the new chairman
Sheffield Wednesday's persistent issues represent a a "serious issue" and the new football authority is seeking powers to examine team situations in such situations, its new chair the regulator has stated.
During an extensive discussion, the regulator, who was appointed on Monday, expressed "sympathy" towards supporters of the Owls.
The regulator engaged with four supporter groups representing the football team in recent days.
The team have been struggling on and off the field in 2025, with the club failing to pay players on time on several different times, including in last month.
"Clearly Sheffield Wednesday has been a major concern for the league and a significant problem for football," Kogan told.
"The club represents one of the great brands for football in England and in recent days we have met fan representatives.
"We're now looking to get powers... which will enable us to take Wednesday and comparable cases referred to us if they require examination and dealt with."
Monetary Issues and Proprietorship Status
The club's controversial proprietor the Thai businessman indicated in the summer he would be prepared to relinquish control at the stadium, but he has failed to complete a sale with interested parties.
Missed wage deadlines on time in spring months caused limitations by the English Football League (EFL) in June, stopping Wednesday from completing any recruitment activities for the next three transfer windows, although the ban was rescinded in late summer.
Regulator's Perspective
The chairman stated: "The position was created for the supporters of Wednesday, other clubs in similar situations where people are committed to a regional establishment that has represented their community in many cases.
"I completely understand the club's situation, as I do for each organization that since 1992 have gone to the wall, or been close to going to the wall, for factors unrelated to the fans themselves."
Questioned about whether the regulator could force an owner to sell a club if they are deemed unsuitable, Kogan said: "When asking whether 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the response would be once we gather the evidence and comprehend the circumstances, we will."
But the chairman emphasized that forcing owners to sell clubs would be viewed as the ultimate measure and the authority would rather to cooperate with proprietors.
"The final option we would consider is start getting involved with an individual club, an particular chairman, without having the opportunity to collaborate with that chairman to fix the challenges confronting the team and the proprietor's dealing with," the chairman stated.
"But the truth is, when you examine the past of the game, over the last 20 or 30 years there have been certain proprietors, few in number, but certain individuals who have acted carelessly in the way which they've been managing their organizations and finally refuse to accept accountability for the coming years."
Wednesday followers have been demonstrating against the current proprietor this season
'Mistakes could erase significant advances'
Kogan met with representatives from 110 clubs to detail the scope of the authority recently and maintained it represented a "forward-thinking discussion" with a "high level of engagement" from the National League to the Premier League.
"This position carries substantial significance, because if we get it wrong, if the sport makes errors, the significant advances achieved could disappear swiftly," Kogan said.
"Such an outcome is universally undesirable in the context of the English game is a major achievement - we've got to keep it going.
"Considerable investment coming into football and has been channeled for the recent generations, because there's no guarantee it will persist in entering the game, which is one of the reasons why I think we have to maintain a focused outlook on challenges and obviously, of the next two or three years."
Elite Division Worries
The Premier League opposed the creation of a regulator because of concerns about detrimental effects on the elite division's competitive balance, but Kogan said: "I fully support the prosperity and expansion as an commercial operation of the Premier League.
"Being fully aware of the concern of undermining the division as a high-quality offering of England. But at the same time, if you engage with division representatives after today's meeting, they would have had a high level of reassurance -and, in fact, they have been informing us confidentially they have a significant confidence."
Partisan Associations
Kogan is still facing a "comprehensive investigation" by the official appointments authority after he disclosed making donations to the political party in the past.
The chairman donated money to Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy's leadership campaign, along with that of the government leader.
"I've been completely open about my former ideological connection [with Labour], and that ideological connection terminated the day the parliamentary committee confirmed my selection," the chairman stated.
"I currently have no participation in any form of political activity."
