'We will play a key role in football's future' - newly appointed regulator the new chairman
Sheffield Wednesday's ongoing struggles represent a a "significant problem" and the football regulator is seeking powers to look into club affairs in comparable cases, its new chair David Kogan has announced.
In a wide-ranging interview, the regulator, who was recently selected, voiced concern towards the club's followers.
The chairman convened with four supporter groups connected to the Championship side this week.
The team have been facing challenges both on and off the pitch in 2025, with the club missing wage payments on multiple instances, including in September.
"Obviously the club has become a serious issue for football authorities and a substantial concern for English football," the regulator explained.
"The club represents one of the historic institutions for football in England 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 warrant scrutiny and dealt with."
Financial Struggles and Leadership Concerns
Wednesday's embattled owner Dejphon Chansiri suggested earlier this year he would be willing to sell up at their home ground, but he has not been able to secure a deal with prospective buyers.
Missed wage deadlines on time in earlier this year led to sanctions by the league officials in June, stopping Wednesday from completing any player acquisitions for the subsequent signing windows, although that restriction was lifted in August.
Authority's Position
The chairman stated: "The job [of the regulator] is there for the fans of Sheffield Wednesday, Bury or any football club where supporters are loyal to a local institution that has represented their community 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 causes separate from the followers."
When asked if the oversight body could require an proprietor to divest a club if they are judged inappropriate, Kogan said: "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 regulator clarified that compelling proprietors to divest clubs would be treated as a "last resort" and the oversight body would choose to cooperate with proprietors.
"The final option we would consider is start getting involved with an specific team, an particular chairman, without being able to work with that chairman to fix the issues that the club's facing and the proprietor's dealing with," the regulator explained.
"In actuality, when you examine the past of football, over the recent generations there have been certain proprietors, a small minority, but particular people who have shown negligence in the way which they've been managing their clubs and ultimately decline to assume obligation for the coming years."
Owls fans have been demonstrating against the current proprietor during the current campaign
'Mistakes could erase significant advances'
Kogan met with officials from numerous teams to lay out the remit of the regulator on Wednesday and insisted it was a "progressive gathering" with a "high level of engagement" 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 could disappear swiftly," Kogan said.
"Such an outcome is universally undesirable in the terms of English football is a huge success story - we need to continue the progress.
"There's an enormous amount of money coming into football and has been invested for the recent generations, because certainty is lacking it will continue to come into football, which is among the factors explaining I think we have to take a really clear view on potential dangers and naturally, of the immediate future."
Premier League Concerns
Top flight officials resisted the establishment of an oversight body because of apprehensions regarding adverse consequences on the top-flight's competitiveness, but the regulator stated: "I'm absolutely committed to the success and growth as an commercial operation of the top division.
"Being fully aware of the concern of undermining the division as a high-quality offering 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, in fact, they have been telling us in private they have a high level of reassurance."
Partisan Associations
Kogan is still facing a "comprehensive investigation" by the public appointments commissioner after he disclosed making donations to the opposition group in recent years.
The 68-year-old contributed funds to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy's leadership campaign, along with that of the now Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
"I've been completely open about my past party membership [with Labour], and that ideological connection terminated the day the parliamentary committee confirmed my selection," Kogan said.
"I am presently disconnected from any type of partisan engagement."
