'We are going to be a part of football's future' - independent football regulator David Kogan
Sheffield Wednesday's ongoing struggles constitute a "significant problem" and the independent regulator is looking to gain the ability to investigate clubs in similar circumstances, the newly appointed chairman the regulator has declared.
Through a comprehensive talk, Kogan, who was recently selected, expressed "sympathy" towards Wednesday's fanbase.
Kogan met with four supporters' associations connected to the Championship side this week.
The Championship side have been facing challenges both on and off the pitch in this season, with the club delaying salary disbursements on five separate occasions, including in last month.
"Evidently Wednesday represents a serious issue for football authorities and a significant problem for football," the chairman stated.
"Wednesday stands as one of the great brands for English football and in recent days we have met supporters' organizations.
"We are seeking authority... which will allow us to have Wednesday and comparable cases referred to us if they need to be investigated and addressed."
Financial Struggles and Leadership Concerns
Wednesday's embattled owner the Thai businessman suggested earlier this year he would be prepared to relinquish control at the stadium, but he has not been able to secure a deal with interested parties.
Delayed salary payments on time in earlier this year caused limitations by the league officials in June, preventing the club from carrying out any transfers or loans for the following recruitment periods, although those limitations were removed in August.
Official's Viewpoint
The chairman stated: "The job [of the regulator] is there for the Owls followers, Bury or any football club where people are committed to a regional establishment that has been part of their lives in multiple situations.
"I fully appreciate the team's plight, as I do for all the clubs that in modern times have encountered failure, or approached financial ruin, for causes separate from the followers."
When asked if the authority might compel an owner to sell a club if they are considered unfit, the regulator answered: "When asking whether 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the answer is once we collect the information and know what's going on, 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 collaborate with owners.
"Our least desirable course of action is begin intervening in an individual club, an individual owner, without being able to work with that chairman to fix the problems affecting the organization and the owner's facing," the chairman stated.
"But the truth is, when you review the record of the sport, over the last 20 or 30 years there have been particular chairmen, a small minority, but certain individuals who have acted carelessly in the manner they have operated their clubs and ultimately decline to assume obligation for the long-term prospects."
Owls fans have been voicing opposition to the current proprietor this season
'Mistakes could erase significant advances'
Kogan met with delegates from multiple organizations to lay out the remit of the regulator on Wednesday and maintained it represented a "forward-thinking discussion" with a "substantial involvement" from the lower divisions to the top flight.
"This position carries substantial significance, because if errors are made, if the football community fails, the significant advances achieved could disappear incredibly quickly," Kogan said.
"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 flowing into the game and has come into football for the past two decades, because certainty is lacking it will persist in entering the game, which is one of the reasons why I think we have to take a really clear view on risk and of course, of the coming seasons."
Top Flight Apprehensions
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 regulator stated: "I completely endorse the achievement and development as an economic entity of the Premier League.
"I of all people understand the worry about compromising the top flight as an elite competition of this country. But at the same time, if you talk to the Premier League after this week's discussion, they would have had a substantial amount of confidence -and, in fact, they have been informing us confidentially they have a high level of reassurance."
Political Connections
Kogan is still facing a "comprehensive investigation" by the Commissioner for Public Appointments after he acknowledged providing funds to the Labour Party in the past.
The official donated money to government minister the politician's campaign, along with that of the current Prime Minister.
"I've been completely open about my former ideological connection [with Labour], and that ideological connection terminated the day the official body endorsed my nomination," the chairman stated.
"I am no longer involved in any type of partisan engagement."
