'Our role is integral to football's future' - newly appointed regulator the new chairman
Sheffield Wednesday's persistent issues are seen as a "significant problem" and the independent regulator is seeking powers to examine team situations in similar circumstances, the recently named head the official has declared.
Through a comprehensive talk, the regulator, who was recently selected, voiced concern towards the club's followers.
The chairman convened with four supporter groups associated with the Championship side in recent days.
The Championship side have been struggling on and off the field in this season, with the club failing to pay players on time on several different times, including in the autumn.
"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 great brands for football in England and recently we have met fan representatives.
"We are seeking authority... which will permit us to bring Wednesday and comparable cases referred to us if they need to be investigated and addressed."
Economic Challenges and Proprietorship Status
The club's controversial proprietor the Thai businessman stated during the off-season he would be willing to sell up at Hillsborough, but he has failed to complete a sale with interested parties.
Failure to pay player wages on time in earlier this year led to sanctions by the English Football League (EFL) in summer, stopping Wednesday from completing any player acquisitions for the next three transfer windows, although that restriction was lifted in August.
Regulator's Perspective
The regulator explained: "The position was created for the fans of Sheffield Wednesday, other clubs in similar situations where supporters are loyal to a local institution that has represented their community in multiple situations.
"I fully appreciate Sheffield Wednesday, as I do for all the clubs that since 1992 have gone to the wall, or approached financial ruin, for causes separate from the supporters."
Inquired if the regulator could force an owner to sell a club if they are deemed unsuitable, Kogan said: "If your question is 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the reply is once we collect the information and understand the situation, we will."
But Kogan stressed that compelling proprietors to divest clubs would be treated as a "last resort" and the oversight body would choose to work with them.
"The last thing what we want to do is begin intervening in an specific team, an particular chairman, without having the opportunity to collaborate with that proprietor to address the issues that the club's facing and the owner's facing," the regulator explained.
"But the truth is, when you look back over the history of the sport, over the last 20 or 30 years there have been some owners, a small minority, but some who have been irresponsible in the manner they have operated their clubs and ultimately decline to assume obligation for the future."
Owls fans have been demonstrating against owner Dejphon Chansiri in recent months
'Errors may undo substantial development'
The regulator engaged representatives from 110 clubs to lay out the remit of the regulator on Wednesday and insisted it was a "progressive gathering" with a "high level of engagement" from the grassroots to elite level.
"This position carries substantial significance, because if we get it wrong, if the football community fails, the extraordinary progress that's been made necessary will vanish rapidly," the regulator warned.
"This represents everyone's worst fear in the context of the English game is a huge success story - we've got to keep it going.
"There's an enormous amount of money entering the sport and has been invested for the last 20 or 25 years, because there are no assurances it will continue to come into football, which is among the factors explaining I think we have to adopt a precise perspective on potential dangers and naturally, of the immediate future."
Premier League Concerns
Top flight officials resisted the creation of a regulator because of concerns about detrimental effects on the elite division's competitive balance, but Kogan said: "I'm absolutely committed to the achievement and development as an economic entity of the elite league.
"As someone who appreciates the concern of undermining the top flight as an elite competition of the nation. But concurrently, if you engage with division representatives after the recent gathering, they would have had a high level of reassurance -and, actually, they have been informing us confidentially they have a high level of reassurance."
Partisan Associations
The regulator remains subject to a "thorough examination" by the official appointments authority after he disclosed making donations to the opposition group in recent years.
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 been entirely transparent regarding my previous political affiliation [with Labour], and that ideological connection terminated the day the select committee approved my appointment," Kogan said.
"I currently have no participation in any type of partisan engagement."
