'We will play a key role in football's future' - newly appointed regulator the regulator's chair
Sheffield Wednesday's ongoing struggles represent a a "serious issue" and the new football authority is seeking powers to examine team situations in such situations, the newly appointed chairman David Kogan has declared.
In a wide-ranging interview, Kogan, who was named to the position this week, expressed "sympathy" towards Wednesday's fanbase.
Kogan met with four supporters' associations representing the football team this week.
The football club have been experiencing difficulties in multiple areas in 2025, with the club failing to pay players on time on several different times, including in last month.
"Evidently Wednesday represents a significant problem for EFL and a significant problem for football," the regulator explained.
"Sheffield Wednesday is one of the historic institutions for English football and in recent days we have met supporters' organizations.
"We're now looking to get powers... which will allow us to have Sheffield Wednesday - and other clubs submitted for our review if they require examination and acted upon."
Economic Challenges and Leadership Concerns
Wednesday's embattled owner the current owner stated during the off-season he would be open to selling the club 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 summer, stopping Wednesday from completing any recruitment activities for the subsequent signing windows, although the ban was rescinded in the end of the transfer window.
Authority's Position
The chairman stated: "The job [of the regulator] is there for the supporters of Wednesday, teams facing challenges where fans are dedicated to a local institution that has existed throughout their lifetimes in numerous instances.
"I fully appreciate the team's plight, as I do for every team that over recent decades have faced collapse, or approached financial ruin, for factors unrelated to the fans themselves."
Questioned about whether the regulator could force an proprietor to divest a club if they are judged inappropriate, the chairman responded: "If your question is 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the response would be once we collect the information and know what's going on, we will."
But the chairman emphasized that forcing owners to sell clubs would be viewed as the ultimate measure and the oversight body would choose to work with them.
"The final option we would consider is begin intervening in 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 look back over the history of the sport, over the past few decades there have been certain proprietors, not many, but particular people who have shown negligence in the approach they have taken toward their clubs and ultimately don't wish to take responsibility for the coming years."
Owls fans have been voicing opposition to owner Dejphon Chansiri this season
'Mistakes could erase significant advances'
Kogan met with delegates from multiple organizations to explain the responsibilities of the authority recently and stated it constituted a "forward-thinking discussion" with a "high level of engagement" from the lower divisions to the top flight.
"This position carries substantial significance, because if we get it wrong, if the sport makes errors, the extraordinary progress that's been made necessary will vanish rapidly," the regulator warned.
"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 coming into football and has been invested for the last 20 or 25 years, because certainty is lacking it will keep flowing into the sport, which is one of the reasons why I think we have to take a really clear view on potential dangers and naturally, of the immediate future."
Elite Division Worries
Elite division representatives objected to the formation of an authority because of concerns about detrimental effects on the elite division's competitive balance, but the regulator stated: "I completely endorse the success and growth as an economic entity of the elite league.
"I of all people understand the concern of undermining the Premier League as a premium product of this country. But simultaneously, if you engage with division representatives after the recent gathering, they would have had a high level of reassurance -and, indeed, they have been informing us confidentially they have a considerable comfort."
Partisan Associations
The chairman continues to confront a "full inquiry" by the official appointments authority after he acknowledged providing funds to the Labour Party in 2020.
The official donated money to Culture Secretary the minister's leadership bid, along with that of the now Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
"I have fully disclosed my past party membership [with Labour], and that ideological connection terminated the day the select committee approved my appointment," the chairman stated.
"I am presently disconnected from any type of partisan engagement."
