'We will play a key role in football's future' - football oversight chief the new chairman
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 similar circumstances, its new chair the regulator has stated.
Through a comprehensive talk, Kogan, who was recently selected, expressed "sympathy" towards supporters of the Owls.
The regulator engaged with four supporter groups associated with the South Yorkshire club this week.
The team have been struggling on and off the field in 2025, with the club missing wage payments on five separate occasions, including in September.
"Evidently Wednesday represents a major concern for the league and a major challenge for the sport," the regulator explained.
"Sheffield Wednesday is one of the great brands for the English game and recently we have met fan representatives.
"Our aim is to acquire the ability... which will allow us to have Sheffield Wednesday - and other clubs submitted for our review if they require examination and acted upon."
Economic Challenges and Proprietorship Status
The club's controversial proprietor the current owner stated during the off-season he would be willing to sell up at Hillsborough, but he has failed to complete a sale with prospective buyers.
Delayed salary payments on time in spring months resulted in restrictions being imposed by the football authorities in June, stopping Wednesday from completing any player acquisitions for the next three transfer windows, although that restriction was lifted in August.
Regulator's Perspective
The regulator explained: "Our role exists to serve the Owls followers, Bury or any football club where fans are dedicated to a community organization that has existed throughout their lifetimes in numerous instances.
"I fully appreciate the team's plight, as I do for all the clubs that over recent decades have faced collapse, or nearly ceased operations, for factors unrelated to the followers."
Questioned about whether the oversight body could require an proprietor to divest a club if they are considered unfit, Kogan said: "Should the inquiry concern 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the response would be once we assemble the facts and comprehend the circumstances, we will."
But the regulator clarified that compelling proprietors to divest clubs would be treated as a "last resort" and the authority would rather to cooperate with proprietors.
"The last thing what we want to do is start getting involved with an specific team, an specific proprietor, without being able to work with that proprietor to address the problems affecting the organization and the owner's facing," Kogan said.
"But the truth is, when you examine the past of football, over the last 20 or 30 years there have been particular chairmen, not many, but some who have been irresponsible in the approach they have taken toward their teams and eventually refuse to accept accountability for the coming years."
Owls fans have been demonstrating against the current proprietor in recent months
'If we get it wrong, extraordinary progress vanishes'
Kogan met with representatives from 110 clubs to detail the scope of the authority recently and maintained it represented a "proactive meeting" with a "significant participation" from the grassroots to elite level.
"The role holds considerable importance, because if errors are made, if the football community fails, the remarkable development accomplished could disappear swiftly," the chairman stated.
"And that's what nobody wants in the realm of domestic football is a substantial accomplishment - we've got to keep it going.
"Substantial financial resources coming into football and has been channeled for the last 20 or 25 years, because there are no assurances it will continue to come into football, which is among the factors explaining I think we have to adopt a precise perspective on risk and of course, of the immediate future."
Premier League Concerns
Top flight officials resisted the establishment of an oversight body because of fears of a negative impact on the elite division's competitive balance, but the chairman responded: "I completely endorse the achievement and development as an economic entity of the Premier League.
"I of all people understand the apprehension regarding damaging the division as a high-quality offering of this country. But concurrently, if you engage with division representatives after the recent gathering, they would have had a substantial amount of confidence -and, actually, they have been informing us confidentially they have a considerable comfort."
Ideological Links
The regulator remains subject to a "full inquiry" by the Commissioner for Public Appointments after he revealed he contributed money to the opposition group in recent years.
The chairman donated money to Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport the politician's campaign, along with that of the current Prime Minister.
"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 regulator explained.
"I am presently disconnected from any form of political activity."
