'We are going to be a part of football's future' - football oversight chief the regulator's chair
Sheffield Wednesday's ongoing struggles constitute a "major concern" and the football regulator is looking to gain the ability to look into club affairs in such situations, the newly appointed chairman the official has declared.
During an extensive discussion, the regulator, who was appointed on Monday, expressed "sympathy" towards Wednesday's fanbase.
Kogan met with four supporters' associations representing the Championship side in recent days.
The football club have been struggling on and off the field in 2025, with the club delaying salary disbursements on several different times, including in last month.
"Obviously the club has become a major concern for the league and a significant problem for football," the regulator explained.
"Wednesday stands as one of the historic institutions for the English game and recently we have met Sheffield Wednesday supporters' groups.
"We're now looking to get powers... which will enable us to take Sheffield Wednesday - and other clubs submitted for our review if they need to be investigated and dealt with."
Financial Struggles and Leadership Concerns
The team's struggling chairman Dejphon Chansiri suggested earlier this year he would be willing to sell up at their home ground, but he has failed to complete a sale with interested parties.
Missed wage deadlines on time in spring months caused limitations by the football authorities in mid-year, blocking the team from conducting any recruitment activities for the subsequent signing windows, although those limitations were removed in late summer.
Authority's Position
The chairman stated: "The position was created for the Owls followers, Bury or any football club where fans are dedicated to a regional establishment that has existed throughout their lifetimes in numerous instances.
"I fully appreciate the club's situation, as I do for each organization that since 1992 have gone to the wall, or approached financial ruin, for causes separate from the fans themselves."
Questioned about whether the authority might compel an chairman to relinquish 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 assemble the facts and understand the situation, we will."
But Kogan stressed that requiring chairmen to relinquish clubs would be treated as a "last resort" and the oversight body would choose to collaborate with owners.
"The last thing what we want to do is commence engagement with an specific team, an individual owner, without being able to work with that proprietor to address the problems affecting the organization and the chairman's encountering," the regulator explained.
"But the truth is, when you review the record of the game, over the last 20 or 30 years there have been certain proprietors, not many, but particular people who have shown negligence in the manner they have operated their teams and eventually refuse to accept accountability for the future."
Wednesday followers have been voicing opposition to the team's chairman in recent months
'Mistakes could erase significant advances'
The regulator engaged representatives from 110 clubs to explain the responsibilities of the oversight body this week and stated it constituted a "proactive meeting" 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 remarkable development accomplished might evaporate swiftly," Kogan said.
"This represents everyone's worst fear in the realm of domestic football is a substantial accomplishment - we must maintain momentum.
"There's an enormous amount of money flowing into the game and has been channeled for the recent generations, because there are no assurances it will keep flowing into the sport, which is one of the reasons why I think we have to adopt a precise perspective on challenges and obviously, of the immediate future."
Premier League Concerns
Elite division representatives objected to the establishment of an oversight body because of fears of a negative impact on the elite division's competitive balance, but the regulator stated: "I'm absolutely committed to the prosperity and expansion as an commercial operation of the top division.
"As someone who appreciates the concern of undermining the division as a high-quality offering of England. But concurrently, if you engage with division representatives after the recent gathering, they would have had a substantial amount of confidence -and, in fact, they have been advising us privately they have a high level of reassurance."
Political Connections
The chairman continues to confront a "full inquiry" by the Commissioner for Public Appointments after he disclosed making donations to the opposition group in 2020.
The official contributed funds to Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy's leadership campaign, along with that of the now Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
"I have fully disclosed my former ideological connection [with Labour], and that political affiliation came to an end the day the parliamentary committee confirmed my selection," Kogan said.
"I am no longer involved in any sort of politics."
