'We are going to be a part of football's future' - independent football regulator David Kogan
Sheffield Wednesday's persistent issues are seen as a "significant problem" and the new football authority is looking to gain the ability to look into club affairs in comparable cases, the newly appointed chairman the regulator has declared.
In a wide-ranging interview, the regulator, who was recently selected, showed understanding towards the club's followers.
Kogan met with four supporters' associations representing the football team recently.
The football club have been struggling on and off the field in 2025, with the club missing wage payments on several different times, including in September.
"Evidently Wednesday represents a serious issue for football authorities and a substantial concern for English football," Kogan told.
"Sheffield Wednesday is one of the iconic names for football in England and in recent days we have met Sheffield Wednesday supporters' groups.
"We are seeking authority... which will enable us to take Wednesday and comparable cases referred to us if they warrant scrutiny and acted upon."
Economic Challenges and Proprietorship Status
Wednesday's embattled owner Dejphon Chansiri indicated in the summer he would be prepared to relinquish control at the stadium, but he has not been able to secure a deal with interested parties.
Missed wage deadlines on time in March and May led to sanctions by the league officials in June, blocking the team from conducting any recruitment activities for the next three transfer windows, although those limitations were removed in the end of the transfer window.
Official's Viewpoint
Kogan said: "The position was created for the supporters of Wednesday, Bury or any football club where supporters are loyal to a local institution that has represented their community in multiple situations.
"I completely understand Sheffield Wednesday, as I do for every team that in modern times have encountered failure, or been close to going to the wall, for causes separate from the followers."
Questioned about whether the regulator could force an proprietor to divest a club if they are deemed unsuitable, the regulator answered: "Should the inquiry concern 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the answer is once we gather the evidence and comprehend the circumstances, we will."
But the chairman emphasized that forcing owners to sell clubs would be viewed as the ultimate measure and the authority would rather to collaborate with owners.
"The last thing what we want to do is start getting involved with an individual club, an particular chairman, without being able to work with that proprietor to address the issues that the club's facing and the chairman's encountering," Kogan said.
"But the truth is, when you review the record of the game, over the last 20 or 30 years there have been some owners, a small minority, but some who have been irresponsible in the way which they've been managing their clubs and ultimately decline to assume obligation for the future."
Owls fans have been protesting against the current proprietor in recent months
'Mistakes could erase significant advances'
Kogan met with representatives from 110 clubs to explain the responsibilities of the regulator on Wednesday and insisted it was a "forward-thinking discussion" with a "significant participation" from the grassroots to elite level.
"It's a job that's actually really important, because should mistakes occur, if the sport makes errors, the extraordinary progress that's been made could disappear rapidly," the regulator warned.
"Such an outcome is universally undesirable in the context of the English game is a huge success story - we've got to keep it going.
"There's an enormous amount of money flowing into the game and has been invested for the last 20 or 25 years, because there are no assurances it will keep flowing into the sport, which is part of the rationale behind I think we have to maintain a focused outlook on risk and of course, of the immediate future."
Elite Division Worries
Elite division representatives objected to the creation of a regulator because of concerns about detrimental effects on the elite division's competitive balance, but the chairman responded: "I completely endorse the prosperity and expansion as an commercial operation of the elite league.
"As someone who appreciates the worry about compromising the top flight as an elite competition of this country. But at the same time, if you engage with division representatives after today's meeting, they would have had a high level of reassurance -and, indeed, they have been advising us privately they have a significant confidence."
Ideological Links
The regulator remains subject to a "comprehensive investigation" by the official appointments authority after he acknowledged providing funds to the opposition group in 2020.
The official donated money to 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 previous political affiliation [with Labour], and that party membership ceased the day the parliamentary committee confirmed my selection," the regulator explained.
"I currently have no participation in any type of partisan engagement."
