'We will play a key role in football's future' - newly appointed regulator the new chairman
Sheffield Wednesday's ongoing struggles are seen as a "significant problem" and the new football authority is looking to gain the ability to examine team situations in comparable cases, the newly appointed chairman the regulator has declared.
In a wide-ranging interview, the chairman, who was named to the position this week, expressed "sympathy" towards the club's followers.
The regulator engaged with four supporter groups connected to the football team recently.
The team have been experiencing difficulties in multiple areas in 2025, with the club failing to pay players on time on several different times, including in September.
"Evidently Wednesday represents a serious issue for football authorities and a substantial concern for English football," the chairman stated.
"The club represents one of the iconic names for the English game and in recent days we have met supporters' organizations.
"Our aim is to acquire the ability... which will permit us to bring the club and similar situations submitted for our review if they require examination and acted upon."
Financial Struggles and Proprietorship Status
The team's struggling chairman the Thai businessman indicated in the summer he would be prepared to relinquish control at their home ground, but he has failed to complete a sale with interested parties.
Missed wage deadlines on time in earlier this year resulted in restrictions being imposed by the English Football League (EFL) in June, stopping Wednesday from completing any player acquisitions for the next three transfer windows, although those limitations were removed in the end of the transfer window.
Authority's Position
The chairman stated: "Our role exists to serve the Owls followers, teams facing challenges where supporters are loyal to a local institution that has represented their community in multiple situations.
"I have absolute sympathy for the team's plight, as I do for all the clubs that over recent decades have faced collapse, or nearly ceased operations, for causes separate from the supporters."
Inquired if the authority might compel an owner to sell a club if they are judged inappropriate, Kogan said: "If your question is 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the reply is once we collect the information and know what's going on, we will."
But Kogan stressed that requiring chairmen to relinquish clubs would be treated as a "last resort" and the regulator would prefer to cooperate with proprietors.
"The final option we would consider is commence engagement with an specific team, an individual owner, without being in a position to cooperate with that proprietor to address the issues that the club's facing and the proprietor's dealing with," Kogan said.
"But the truth is, when you examine the past of football, over the last 20 or 30 years there have been some owners, a small minority, but some who have been irresponsible in the way which they've been managing their teams and eventually refuse to accept accountability for the long-term prospects."
Owls fans have been protesting against owner Dejphon Chansiri this season
'If we get it wrong, extraordinary progress vanishes'
The chairman convened with representatives from 110 clubs to explain the responsibilities of the authority recently and insisted it was a "proactive meeting" with a "significant participation" from the lower divisions to the top flight.
"This position carries substantial significance, because if we get it wrong, if the world of football gets it wrong, the significant advances achieved could disappear rapidly," the regulator warned.
"This represents everyone's worst fear in the context of the English game is a huge success story - we've got to keep it going.
"Considerable investment coming into football and has come into football for the past two decades, because certainty is lacking it will keep flowing into the sport, which is among the factors explaining I think we have to adopt a precise perspective on potential dangers and naturally, of the immediate future."
Premier League Concerns
Top flight officials resisted the creation of a regulator because of fears of a negative impact on the Premier League's sporting equality, but the regulator stated: "I completely endorse the achievement and development as an commercial operation of the Premier League.
"I of all people understand the concern of undermining the Premier League as a premium product of this country. But at the same time, if you talk to the Premier League after today's meeting, they would have had a high level of reassurance -and, indeed, they have been informing us confidentially they have a high level of reassurance."
Ideological Links
The regulator remains subject to a "thorough examination" by the official appointments authority after he acknowledged providing funds to the opposition group in the past.
The official donated money to government minister the politician's campaign, along with that of the current Prime Minister.
"I've been completely open about my former ideological connection [with Labour], and that party membership ceased the day the select committee approved my appointment," Kogan said.
"I am presently disconnected from any type of partisan engagement."
