'We are going to be a part of football's future' - football oversight chief the new chairman
The Championship club's current difficulties are seen as a "serious issue" and the new football authority is aiming to acquire authority to investigate clubs in such situations, the recently named head the official has announced.
In a wide-ranging interview, the regulator, who was appointed on Monday, expressed "sympathy" towards supporters of the Owls.
The regulator engaged with four supporters' associations associated with the football team in recent days.
The team have been struggling on and off the field in 2025, with the club delaying salary disbursements on five separate occasions, including in September.
"Obviously the club has become a significant problem for EFL and a major challenge for the sport," the chairman stated.
"Sheffield Wednesday is one of the great brands for the English game and in recent days we have met fan representatives.
"We are seeking authority... which will enable us to take Sheffield Wednesday - and other clubs submitted for our review if they need to be investigated and addressed."
Economic Challenges and Leadership Concerns
Wednesday's embattled owner Dejphon Chansiri indicated in the summer he would be open to selling the club at their home ground, but he has failed to complete a sale with interested parties.
Delayed salary payments on time in March and May led to sanctions by the football authorities in mid-year, preventing the club from carrying out any recruitment activities for the subsequent signing windows, although the ban was rescinded in the end of the transfer window.
Regulator's Perspective
The regulator explained: "Our role exists to serve the fans of Sheffield Wednesday, Bury or any football club where people are committed to a local institution that has represented their community in multiple situations.
"I completely understand the club's situation, as I do for all the clubs that since 1992 have gone to the wall, or approached financial ruin, for factors unrelated to the followers."
Questioned about whether the oversight body could require an proprietor to divest a club if they are judged inappropriate, the chairman responded: "When asking whether 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the response would be once we assemble the facts and comprehend the circumstances, we will."
But Kogan stressed that requiring chairmen to relinquish clubs would be treated as a "last resort" and the regulator would prefer to work with them.
"Our least desirable course of action is commence engagement with an particular organization, an particular chairman, without having the opportunity to collaborate with that chairman to fix the challenges confronting the team and the proprietor's dealing with," the regulator explained.
"In actuality, when you examine the past of the sport, over the recent generations there have been particular chairmen, a small minority, but particular people who have shown negligence in the manner they have operated their teams and eventually don't wish to take responsibility for the long-term prospects."
Sheffield Wednesday supporters have been demonstrating against the team's chairman in recent months
'Mistakes could erase significant advances'
Kogan met with officials from numerous teams to lay out the remit of the authority recently and stated it constituted a "progressive gathering" with a "substantial involvement" from the lower divisions to the top flight.
"The role holds considerable importance, because if we get it wrong, if the football community fails, the extraordinary progress that's been made might evaporate swiftly," the regulator warned.
"And that's what nobody wants in the context of the English game 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 past two decades, because there are no assurances it will keep flowing into the sport, which is part of the rationale behind I think we have to adopt a precise perspective on challenges and obviously, of the immediate future."
Elite Division Worries
Elite division representatives objected to the formation of an authority 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 economic entity of the Premier League.
"Being fully aware of the worry about compromising the top flight as an elite competition of this country. But simultaneously, if you engage with division representatives after today's meeting, they would have had a significant degree of comfort -and, indeed, they have been informing us confidentially they have a significant confidence."
Partisan Associations
The regulator remains subject to a "full inquiry" by the official appointments authority after he revealed he contributed money to the Labour Party in the past.
The 68-year-old donated money to government minister the politician's campaign, along with that of the government leader.
"I have been entirely transparent regarding my past party membership [with Labour], and that ideological connection terminated the day the parliamentary committee confirmed my selection," the chairman stated.
"I currently have no participation in any type of partisan engagement."
