'Our role is integral to football's future' - football oversight chief the new chairman
Sheffield Wednesday's current difficulties are seen as a "significant problem" and the new football authority is looking to gain the ability to look into club affairs in similar circumstances, the newly appointed chairman the official has stated.
During an extensive discussion, the chairman, who was appointed on Monday, showed understanding towards the club's followers.
Kogan met with four supporter groups connected to the Championship side in recent days.
The team have been experiencing difficulties in multiple areas in 2025, with the club missing wage payments on five separate occasions, including in the autumn.
"Obviously the club has become a serious issue for football authorities and a substantial concern for English football," Kogan told.
"Wednesday stands as one of the great brands for football in England and in recent days we have met supporters' organizations.
"Our aim is to acquire the ability... which will enable us to take Wednesday and comparable cases referred to us if they require examination and acted upon."
Financial Struggles and Leadership Concerns
Wednesday's embattled owner the Thai businessman stated during the off-season he would be willing to sell up at their home ground, but he has not been able to secure a deal with potential new owners.
Delayed salary payments on time in March and May resulted in restrictions being imposed by the English Football League (EFL) in mid-year, stopping Wednesday from completing any player acquisitions for the subsequent signing windows, although those limitations were removed in late summer.
Authority's Position
The regulator explained: "The job [of the regulator] is there for the supporters of Wednesday, other clubs in similar situations where people are committed to a local institution that has represented their community in numerous instances.
"I have absolute sympathy for the team's plight, as I do for each organization that over recent decades have faced collapse, or been close to going to the wall, for reasons that have nothing to do with the fans themselves."
Questioned about whether the regulator could force an owner to sell a club if they are deemed unsuitable, the regulator answered: "If your question is 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the response would be once we assemble the facts and understand the situation, we will."
But the chairman emphasized that forcing owners to sell clubs would be treated as a "last resort" and the regulator would prefer to work with them.
"Our least desirable course of action is begin intervening in an specific team, an specific proprietor, without being able to work with that proprietor to address the issues that the club's facing and the chairman's encountering," the regulator explained.
"But the truth is, when you look back over the history of football, over the past few decades there have been some owners, few in number, but particular people who have shown negligence in the approach they have taken toward their organizations and finally decline to assume obligation for the long-term prospects."
Sheffield Wednesday supporters have been protesting against the team's chairman during the current campaign
'If we get it wrong, extraordinary progress vanishes'
The regulator engaged representatives from 110 clubs to explain the responsibilities of the oversight body this week and insisted it was a "proactive meeting" with a "high level of engagement" from the grassroots to elite level.
"This position carries substantial significance, because if errors are made, if the football community fails, the remarkable development accomplished necessary will vanish swiftly," Kogan said.
"Such an outcome is universally undesirable in the terms of English football is a major achievement - we need to continue the progress.
"Substantial financial resources coming into football and has been invested for the last 20 or 25 years, because certainty is lacking it will persist in entering the game, which is one of the reasons why I think we have to maintain a focused outlook on potential dangers and naturally, of the next two or three years."
Top Flight Apprehensions
Top flight officials resisted the establishment of an oversight body because of apprehensions regarding adverse consequences on the elite division's competitive balance, but the chairman responded: "I completely endorse the achievement and development as an financial organization of the Premier League.
"As someone who appreciates the apprehension regarding damaging the division as a high-quality offering of the nation. But simultaneously, if you consult with top flight officials after this week's discussion, they would have had a high level of reassurance -and, in fact, they have been telling us in private they have a significant confidence."
Partisan Associations
The chairman continues to confront a "thorough examination" by the official appointments authority after he disclosed making donations to the Labour Party in recent years.
The 68-year-old contributed funds to Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy's leadership campaign, along with that of the government leader.
"I have fully disclosed my former ideological connection [with Labour], and that ideological connection terminated the day the select committee approved my appointment," the regulator explained.
"I currently have no participation in any sort of politics."
