'We will play a key role in football's future' - football oversight chief the new chairman
Sheffield Wednesday's persistent issues represent a a "significant problem" and the new football authority is seeking powers to look into club affairs in such situations, the recently named head the official has stated.
In a wide-ranging interview, Kogan, who was recently selected, expressed "sympathy" towards supporters of the Owls.
Kogan met with four supporter groups connected to the football team recently.
The team have been struggling on and off the field in 2025, with the club failing to pay players on time on several different times, including in September.
"Clearly Sheffield Wednesday has been a serious issue for football authorities and a significant problem for football," Kogan told.
"Sheffield Wednesday is one of the iconic names for the English game and in recent days we have met fan representatives.
"We are seeking authority... which will enable us to take Wednesday and comparable cases submitted for our review if they require examination and dealt with."
Financial Struggles and Proprietorship Status
The team's struggling chairman the current owner indicated in the summer he would be willing to sell up at Hillsborough, but he has not been able to secure a deal with prospective buyers.
Delayed salary payments on time in earlier this year resulted in restrictions being imposed by the league officials in mid-year, preventing the club from carrying out any recruitment activities for the next three transfer windows, although that restriction was lifted in late summer.
Regulator's Perspective
The regulator explained: "Our role exists to serve the fans of Sheffield Wednesday, Bury or any football club where fans are dedicated to a community organization that has represented their community in multiple situations.
"I completely understand the club's situation, as I do for each organization that over recent decades have faced collapse, or been close to going to the wall, 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 deemed unsuitable, the chairman responded: "When asking whether '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 forcing owners to sell clubs would be viewed as the ultimate measure and the regulator would prefer to cooperate with proprietors.
"Our least desirable course of action is begin intervening in an individual club, an particular chairman, without having the opportunity to collaborate with that chairman to fix the issues that the club's facing and the owner's facing," Kogan said.
"In actuality, when you review the record of the sport, over the past few decades there have been particular chairmen, few in number, but certain individuals who have acted carelessly in the manner they have operated their organizations and finally don't wish to take responsibility for the coming years."
Wednesday followers have been demonstrating against owner Dejphon Chansiri in recent months
'Mistakes could erase significant advances'
The chairman convened with officials from numerous teams to detail the scope of the authority recently and insisted it was a "progressive gathering" with a "significant participation" from the lower divisions to the top flight.
"This position carries substantial significance, because if errors are made, if the sport makes errors, the extraordinary progress that's been made necessary will vanish incredibly quickly," the regulator warned.
"This represents everyone's worst fear in the terms of English football is a substantial accomplishment - we need to continue the progress.
"There's an enormous amount of money coming into football and has been channeled for the past two decades, because there are no assurances it will continue to come into football, which is part of the rationale behind I think we have to maintain a focused outlook on challenges and obviously, of the immediate future."
Elite Division Worries
Top flight officials resisted the establishment of an oversight body because of fears of a negative impact on the Premier League's sporting equality, but the regulator stated: "I fully support the achievement and development as an financial organization of the top division.
"As someone who appreciates the worry about compromising the top flight as an elite competition of the nation. But concurrently, if you talk to the Premier League after the recent gathering, they would have had a high level of reassurance -and, indeed, they have been informing us confidentially they have a high level of reassurance."
Partisan Associations
Kogan is still facing a "comprehensive investigation" by the Commissioner for Public Appointments after he disclosed making donations to the opposition group in the past.
The official provided financial support for Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy's leadership campaign, along with that of the now Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
"I've been completely open about my past party membership [with Labour], and that political affiliation came to an end the day the parliamentary committee confirmed my selection," the chairman stated.
"I am no longer involved in any sort of politics."
