'We are going to be a part of football's future' - independent football regulator the regulator's chair
Sheffield Wednesday's ongoing struggles represent a a "significant problem" and the new football authority is looking to gain the ability to investigate clubs in such situations, its new chair David Kogan has declared.
During an extensive discussion, the chairman, who was named to the position this week, showed understanding towards the club's followers.
The regulator engaged with four supporter groups associated with the South Yorkshire club this week.
The team have been experiencing difficulties in multiple areas in 2025, with the club missing wage payments on multiple instances, including in last month.
"Clearly Sheffield Wednesday has been a significant problem for EFL and a major challenge for the sport," Kogan told.
"Sheffield Wednesday is one of the historic institutions for football in England and recently we have met fan representatives.
"Our aim is to acquire the ability... which will enable us to take Sheffield Wednesday - and other clubs submitted for our review if they require examination and acted upon."
Monetary Issues and Proprietorship Status
The team's struggling chairman the Thai businessman stated during the off-season he would be open to selling the club at the stadium, but he has failed to complete a sale with interested parties.
Missed wage deadlines on time in March and May resulted in restrictions being imposed by the league officials in summer, preventing the club from carrying out any recruitment activities for the subsequent signing windows, although those limitations were removed in late summer.
Official's Viewpoint
The regulator explained: "The position was created for the fans of Sheffield Wednesday, teams facing challenges where supporters are loyal to a regional establishment that has represented their community in multiple situations.
"I fully appreciate the team's plight, as I do for every team that over recent decades have faced collapse, or been close to going to the wall, for factors unrelated to the supporters."
When asked if the oversight body could require an owner to sell 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 understand the situation, we will."
But the regulator clarified that forcing owners to sell clubs would be considered the final option and the oversight body would choose to work with them.
"The last thing what we want to do is start getting involved with an individual club, an individual owner, without being able to work with that proprietor to address the challenges confronting the team and the owner's facing," the regulator explained.
"In actuality, when you review the record of the game, over the last 20 or 30 years there have been particular chairmen, few in number, but some who have been irresponsible in the manner they have operated their organizations and finally refuse to accept accountability for the long-term prospects."
Owls fans have been protesting against the team's chairman during the current campaign
'Mistakes could erase significant advances'
The regulator engaged representatives from 110 clubs to explain the responsibilities of the authority recently and insisted it was a "proactive meeting" with a "substantial involvement" from the grassroots to elite level.
"It's a job that's actually really important, because should mistakes occur, if the world of football gets it wrong, the extraordinary progress that's been made might evaporate incredibly quickly," the chairman stated.
"And that's what nobody wants in the terms of English football is a substantial accomplishment - we need to continue the progress.
"Substantial financial resources flowing into the game and has been channeled for the recent generations, because there's no guarantee it will keep flowing into the sport, which is part of the rationale behind I think we have to maintain a focused outlook on challenges and obviously, of the immediate future."
Premier League Concerns
Elite division representatives objected to the establishment of an oversight body because of apprehensions regarding adverse consequences on the top-flight's competitiveness, but the chairman responded: "I fully support the prosperity and expansion as an economic entity of the Premier League.
"As someone who appreciates the worry about compromising the top flight as an elite competition 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, actually, they have been informing us confidentially they have a considerable comfort."
Ideological Links
The chairman continues to confront a "comprehensive investigation" by the official appointments authority after he disclosed making donations to the political party in the past.
The chairman contributed funds to Culture Secretary the politician's campaign, along with that of the current Prime Minister.
"I've been completely open about my former ideological connection [with Labour], and that ideological connection terminated the day the parliamentary committee confirmed my selection," Kogan said.
"I am presently disconnected from any sort of politics."
