'We are going to be a part of football's future' - independent football regulator the regulator's chair
The Championship club's persistent issues represent a a "major concern" and the football regulator is looking to gain the ability to examine team situations in similar circumstances, the recently named head David Kogan has stated.
In a wide-ranging interview, the regulator, who was recently selected, expressed "sympathy" towards supporters of the Owls.
Kogan met with four fan organizations associated with the South Yorkshire club this week.
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 the autumn.
"Obviously the club has become a serious issue for football authorities and a significant problem for football," the chairman stated.
"Wednesday stands as one of the great brands for football in England and recently we have met fan representatives.
"We're now looking to get powers... which will permit us to bring Sheffield Wednesday - and other clubs submitted for our review if they need to be investigated and addressed."
Economic Challenges and Ownership Situation
The team's struggling chairman the current owner indicated in the summer he would be open to selling the club at the stadium, but he has been unable to finalize an agreement with potential new owners.
Delayed salary payments on time in earlier this year led to sanctions by the football authorities in June, blocking the team from conducting any recruitment activities for the next three transfer windows, although the ban was rescinded in late summer.
Authority's Position
Kogan said: "Our role exists to serve the supporters of 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 club's situation, as I do for all the clubs that since 1992 have gone to the wall, or approached financial ruin, for reasons that have nothing to do with the followers."
Questioned about whether the authority might compel an proprietor to divest a club if they are judged inappropriate, the regulator answered: "If your question is 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the answer is once we gather the evidence and understand the situation, we will."
But the regulator clarified that compelling proprietors to divest clubs would be treated as a "last resort" and the oversight body would choose to work with them.
"The final option we would consider is begin intervening in an particular organization, an individual owner, without being able to work with that proprietor to address the challenges confronting the team and the owner's facing," Kogan said.
"However, realistically, when you examine the past of the sport, over the last 20 or 30 years there have been certain proprietors, few in number, but certain individuals who have acted carelessly in the way which they've been managing their teams and eventually don't wish to take responsibility for the coming years."
Wednesday followers have been voicing opposition to the team's chairman in recent months
'Errors may undo substantial development'
The regulator engaged delegates from multiple organizations to explain the responsibilities of the oversight body this week and maintained it represented a "progressive gathering" with a "high level of engagement" from the lower divisions to the top flight.
"The role holds considerable importance, because if we get it wrong, if the world of football gets it wrong, the extraordinary progress that's been made could disappear swiftly," the chairman stated.
"Such an outcome is universally undesirable in the context of the English game is a major achievement - we need to continue the progress.
"Considerable investment entering the sport and has been channeled for the past two decades, because there are no assurances it will persist in entering the game, which is part of the rationale behind I think we have to take a really clear view on risk and of course, of the next two or three years."
Elite Division Worries
The Premier League opposed 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'm absolutely committed to the prosperity and expansion as an commercial operation of the Premier League.
"I of all people understand the worry about compromising the division as a high-quality offering of the nation. But simultaneously, if you consult with top flight officials after the recent gathering, they would have had a significant degree of comfort -and, indeed, they have been informing us confidentially they have a significant confidence."
Ideological Links
The regulator remains subject to a "full inquiry" by the public appointments commissioner after he revealed he contributed money to the Labour Party in recent years.
The chairman provided financial support for Culture Secretary the politician's campaign, along with that of the now Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
"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 am presently disconnected from any form of political activity."
