'We are going to be a part of football's future' - newly appointed regulator David Kogan
Sheffield Wednesday's current difficulties are seen as a "serious issue" and the football regulator is looking to gain the ability to examine team situations in comparable cases, the recently named head the regulator has stated.
In a wide-ranging interview, the regulator, who was appointed on Monday, showed understanding towards Wednesday's fanbase.
The regulator engaged with four fan organizations associated with the Championship side recently.
The Championship side have been struggling on and off the field in 2025, with the club delaying salary disbursements on five separate occasions, including in the autumn.
"Clearly Sheffield Wednesday has been a serious issue for football authorities and a significant problem for football," the regulator explained.
"Sheffield Wednesday is one of the iconic names for the English game and recently we have met supporters' organizations.
"We're now looking to get powers... which will enable us to take Sheffield Wednesday - and other clubs submitted for our review if they warrant scrutiny and addressed."
Economic Challenges and Proprietorship Status
The team's struggling chairman Dejphon Chansiri indicated in the summer he would be willing to sell up at Hillsborough, but he has been unable to finalize an agreement with prospective buyers.
Missed wage deadlines on time in earlier this year caused limitations by the English Football League (EFL) in mid-year, stopping Wednesday from completing any player acquisitions for the following recruitment periods, although those limitations were removed in the end of the transfer window.
Authority's Position
The chairman stated: "The position was created for the fans of Sheffield Wednesday, Bury or any football club where people are committed to a local institution that has been part of their lives in numerous instances.
"I completely understand the team's plight, as I do for each organization that over recent decades have faced collapse, or nearly ceased operations, for causes separate from the fans themselves."
Questioned about whether the authority might compel an proprietor to divest a club if they are deemed unsuitable, 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 Kogan stressed that compelling proprietors to divest clubs would be treated as a "last resort" and the authority would rather to work with them.
"Our least desirable course of action is commence engagement with an particular organization, an individual owner, without having the opportunity to collaborate with that owner to try and resolve the problems affecting the organization and the proprietor's dealing with," the regulator explained.
"In actuality, when you look back over the history of the sport, over the recent generations there have been certain proprietors, few in number, but some who have been irresponsible in the way which they've been managing their clubs and ultimately decline to assume obligation for the coming years."
Sheffield Wednesday supporters have been protesting against owner Dejphon Chansiri during the current campaign
'Mistakes could erase significant advances'
The chairman convened with officials from numerous teams to lay out the remit of the authority recently and maintained it represented a "forward-thinking discussion" with a "substantial involvement" from the lower divisions to the top flight.
"It's a job that's actually really important, because if errors are made, if the world of football gets it wrong, the remarkable development accomplished necessary will vanish incredibly quickly," Kogan said.
"This represents everyone's worst fear in the context of the English game is a major achievement - we need to continue the progress.
"There's an enormous amount of money entering the sport and has come into football for the last 20 or 25 years, because certainty is lacking it will keep flowing into the sport, which is one of the reasons why I think we have to maintain a focused outlook on risk and of course, of the coming seasons."
Premier League Concerns
Elite division representatives objected to the creation of a regulator because of apprehensions regarding adverse consequences on the elite division's competitive balance, but Kogan said: "I completely endorse the success and growth as an commercial operation of the elite league.
"As someone who appreciates the worry about compromising the division as a high-quality offering of the nation. But concurrently, if you engage with division representatives after today's meeting, they would have had a high level of reassurance -and, actually, they have been telling us in private they have a significant confidence."
Political Connections
Kogan is still facing a "thorough examination" by the public appointments commissioner after he revealed he contributed money to the Labour Party in the past.
The official contributed funds to government minister Lisa Nandy's leadership campaign, along with that of the current Prime Minister.
"I have fully disclosed my past party membership [with Labour], and that ideological connection terminated the day the official body endorsed my nomination," Kogan said.
"I currently have no participation in any form of political activity."
