'We are going to be a part of football's future' - independent football regulator the new chairman
Sheffield Wednesday's persistent issues are seen as a "significant problem" and the football regulator is looking to gain the ability to examine team situations in comparable cases, the recently named head the official has declared.
Through a comprehensive talk, Kogan, who was appointed on Monday, voiced concern towards Wednesday's fanbase.
The chairman convened with four supporters' associations associated with the football team this week.
The Championship side have been struggling on and off the field in 2025, with the club delaying salary disbursements on five separate occasions, including in last month.
"Clearly Sheffield Wednesday has been a serious issue for football authorities and a significant problem for football," the regulator explained.
"The club represents one of the iconic names for football in England and this week we have met supporters' organizations.
"We are seeking authority... which will enable us to take Sheffield Wednesday - and other clubs referred to us if they warrant scrutiny and acted upon."
Financial Struggles and Ownership Situation
The team's struggling chairman the current owner 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 interested parties.
Delayed salary payments on time in earlier this year resulted in restrictions being imposed by the English Football League (EFL) in June, preventing the club from carrying out any player acquisitions for the next three transfer windows, although the ban was rescinded in late summer.
Authority's Position
The chairman stated: "Our role exists to serve the supporters of Wednesday, other clubs in similar situations where fans are dedicated to a regional establishment that has represented their community in numerous instances.
"I completely understand the team's plight, as I do for every team that in modern times have encountered failure, or approached financial ruin, for causes separate from the fans themselves."
Inquired if the authority might compel an chairman to relinquish a club if they are judged inappropriate, the regulator answered: "If your question is 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the answer is once we assemble the facts and comprehend the circumstances, we will."
But Kogan stressed that compelling proprietors to divest clubs would be viewed as the ultimate measure and the oversight body would choose to cooperate with proprietors.
"The final option we would consider is commence engagement with an individual club, an individual owner, without being able to work with that owner to try and resolve 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 the sport, over the past few decades there have been particular chairmen, few in number, but certain individuals who have acted carelessly in the approach they have taken toward their teams and eventually decline to assume obligation for the coming years."
Wednesday followers have been voicing opposition to the current proprietor this season
'Errors may undo substantial development'
The regulator engaged representatives from 110 clubs to explain the responsibilities of the regulator on Wednesday and stated it constituted a "proactive meeting" with a "substantial involvement" from the National League to the Premier League.
"This position carries substantial significance, because if we get it wrong, if the world of football gets it wrong, the significant advances achieved necessary will vanish swiftly," the chairman stated.
"Such an outcome is universally undesirable in the terms of English football is a major achievement - we've got to keep it going.
"There's an enormous amount of money flowing into the game and has come into football for the recent generations, because certainty is lacking it will keep flowing into the sport, which is part of the rationale behind I think we have to take a really clear view on risk and of course, of the immediate future."
Premier League Concerns
Top flight officials resisted the creation of a regulator because of apprehensions regarding adverse consequences on the Premier League's sporting equality, but Kogan said: "I fully support the success and growth as an financial organization of the top division.
"As someone who appreciates the worry about compromising the Premier League as a premium product of the nation. But concurrently, if you engage with division representatives after today's meeting, they would have had a substantial amount of confidence -and, actually, they have been advising us privately they have a considerable comfort."
Political Connections
The chairman continues to confront a "comprehensive investigation" by the official appointments authority after he acknowledged providing funds to the Labour Party in 2020.
The 68-year-old provided financial support for government minister the minister's leadership bid, along with that of the now Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
"I've been completely open about 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."
