'We are going to be a part of football's future' - independent football regulator the new chairman
Sheffield Wednesday's ongoing struggles represent a a "significant problem" and the independent regulator is seeking powers to look into club affairs in comparable cases, the newly appointed chairman the regulator has announced.
Through a comprehensive talk, the regulator, who was recently selected, showed understanding towards Wednesday's fanbase.
The regulator engaged with four supporter groups representing the football team this week.
The team have been struggling on and off the field in 2025, with the club missing wage payments on five separate occasions, including in September.
"Clearly Sheffield Wednesday has been a significant problem for EFL and a substantial concern for English football," the regulator explained.
"The club represents one of the iconic names for the English game and in recent days we have met Sheffield Wednesday supporters' groups.
"Our aim is to acquire the ability... which will enable us to take the club and similar situations brought to our attention if they warrant scrutiny and addressed."
Monetary Issues and Proprietorship Status
The team's struggling chairman the Thai businessman suggested earlier this year he would be willing to sell up at Hillsborough, but he has failed to complete a sale with potential new owners.
Failure to pay player wages on time in spring months resulted in restrictions being imposed by the football authorities in summer, stopping Wednesday from completing any player acquisitions for the next three transfer windows, although the ban was rescinded in the end of the transfer window.
Official's Viewpoint
Kogan said: "The job [of the regulator] is there for the fans of Sheffield Wednesday, other clubs in similar situations where people are committed to a local institution that has existed throughout their lifetimes in many cases.
"I have absolute sympathy for the team's plight, as I do for every team that in modern times have encountered failure, or nearly ceased operations, for reasons that have nothing to do with the supporters."
Inquired if the authority might compel an proprietor to divest a club if they are judged inappropriate, Kogan said: "When asking whether 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the answer is once we gather the evidence and comprehend the circumstances, we will."
But the chairman emphasized that requiring chairmen to relinquish clubs would be considered the final option and the oversight body would choose to work with them.
"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 proprietor to address the issues that the club's facing and the chairman's encountering," Kogan said.
"In actuality, when you examine the past of football, over the past few decades there have been particular chairmen, few in number, but some who have been irresponsible in the way which they've been managing their organizations and finally refuse to accept accountability for the coming years."
Owls fans have been demonstrating against the current proprietor this season
'Mistakes could erase significant advances'
The chairman convened with officials from numerous teams to lay out the remit of the authority recently and insisted it was a "proactive meeting" with a "substantial involvement" from the grassroots to elite level.
"The role holds considerable importance, because if we get it wrong, if the sport makes errors, the extraordinary progress that's been made necessary will vanish swiftly," Kogan said.
"And that's what nobody wants in the terms of English football is a major achievement - we need to continue the progress.
"There's an enormous amount of money flowing into the game and has been channeled for the last 20 or 25 years, because there's no guarantee it will keep flowing into the sport, which is among the factors explaining I think we have to adopt a precise perspective on challenges and obviously, of the next two or three years."
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 prosperity and expansion as an financial organization of the Premier League.
"Being fully aware of the concern of undermining the division as a high-quality offering of England. But simultaneously, if you talk to the Premier League after this week's discussion, they would have had a significant degree of comfort -and, indeed, they have been advising us privately they have a high level of reassurance."
Partisan Associations
The chairman continues to confront a "comprehensive investigation" by the Commissioner for Public Appointments after he acknowledged providing funds to the political party in 2020.
The official provided financial support for Culture Secretary the politician's campaign, along with that of the now Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
"I have been entirely transparent regarding my past party membership [with Labour], and that party membership ceased the day the parliamentary committee confirmed my selection," the chairman stated.
"I currently have no participation in any sort of politics."
