'We will play a key role in football's future' - newly appointed regulator David Kogan
Sheffield Wednesday's current difficulties constitute a "serious issue" and the independent regulator is looking to gain the ability to investigate clubs in comparable cases, its new chair David Kogan has declared.
In a wide-ranging interview, the regulator, who was named to the position this week, showed understanding towards Wednesday's fanbase.
Kogan met with four supporters' associations connected to the football team in recent days.
The football club have been facing challenges both on and off the pitch in this season, with the club missing wage payments on several different times, including in the autumn.
"Evidently Wednesday represents a significant problem for EFL and a major challenge for the sport," Kogan told.
"Wednesday stands as one of the great brands for football in England and recently we have met Sheffield Wednesday supporters' groups.
"We're now looking to get powers... which will allow us to have the club and similar situations submitted for our review if they warrant scrutiny and acted upon."
Financial Struggles and Proprietorship Status
The team's struggling chairman Dejphon Chansiri suggested earlier this year he would be open to selling the club at their home ground, but he has been unable to finalize an agreement with potential new owners.
Delayed salary payments on time in March and May resulted in restrictions being imposed by the English Football League (EFL) in summer, preventing the club from carrying out any recruitment activities for the following recruitment periods, although that restriction was lifted in the end of the transfer window.
Authority's Position
Kogan said: "Our role exists to serve the fans of Sheffield Wednesday, teams facing challenges where supporters are loyal to a regional establishment that has existed throughout their lifetimes in many cases.
"I have absolute sympathy for the team's plight, as I do for each organization that over recent decades have faced collapse, or been close to going to the wall, for causes separate from the supporters."
Inquired if the authority might compel an proprietor to divest a club if they are considered unfit, the chairman responded: "If your question is 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the answer is once we collect the information 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 start getting involved with an individual club, an particular chairman, without being able to work with that chairman to fix the issues that the club's facing and the proprietor's dealing with," the regulator explained.
"But the truth is, when you review the record of football, over the past few decades there have been some owners, a small minority, but some who have been irresponsible in the way which they've been managing their teams and eventually decline to assume obligation for the future."
Sheffield Wednesday supporters have been voicing opposition to the current proprietor during the current campaign
'If we get it wrong, extraordinary progress vanishes'
The regulator engaged representatives from 110 clubs to detail the scope of the regulator on Wednesday and insisted it was a "forward-thinking discussion" with a "substantial involvement" from the National League to the Premier League.
"The role holds considerable importance, because should mistakes occur, if the world of football gets it wrong, the significant advances achieved might evaporate swiftly," the regulator warned.
"This represents everyone's worst fear in the realm of domestic football is a substantial accomplishment - we must maintain momentum.
"Substantial financial resources entering the sport and has come into football for the past two decades, because there's no guarantee it will continue to come into football, which is one of the reasons why I think we have to maintain a focused outlook on potential dangers and naturally, of the next two or three years."
Top Flight Apprehensions
The Premier League opposed the establishment of an oversight body because of fears of a negative impact on the top-flight's competitiveness, but Kogan said: "I completely endorse the success and growth as an economic entity of the Premier League.
"As someone who appreciates the apprehension regarding damaging the Premier League as a premium product of this country. But at the same time, if you engage with division representatives after this week's discussion, they would have had a high level of reassurance -and, actually, they have been telling us in private they have a significant confidence."
Political Connections
Kogan is still facing a "thorough examination" by the official appointments authority after he disclosed making donations to the opposition group in recent years.
The 68-year-old contributed funds to Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy's leadership campaign, along with that of the government leader.
"I've been completely open about my previous political affiliation [with Labour], and that ideological connection terminated the day the select committee approved my appointment," Kogan said.
"I am no longer involved in any type of partisan engagement."
