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Sheffield Wednesday's ongoing struggles constitute a "significant problem" and the independent regulator is aiming to acquire authority to examine team situations in comparable cases, the newly appointed chairman the regulator has announced.

During an extensive discussion, the chairman, who was appointed on Monday, voiced concern towards supporters of the Owls.

Kogan met with four fan organizations associated with the football team in recent days.

The football club have been experiencing difficulties in multiple areas in 2025, with the club failing to pay players on time on five separate occasions, including in last month.

"Obviously the club has become a significant problem for EFL and a significant problem for football," the chairman stated.

"Wednesday stands as one of the great brands for the English game and recently we have met fan representatives.

"We are seeking authority... which will enable us to take Wednesday and comparable cases referred to us if they require examination and addressed."

Financial Struggles and Proprietorship Status

Wednesday's embattled owner Dejphon Chansiri suggested earlier this year he would be open to selling the club at their home ground, but he has not been able to secure a deal with potential new owners.

Missed wage deadlines on time in spring months caused limitations by the league officials in June, blocking the team from conducting any recruitment activities for the following recruitment periods, although the ban was rescinded in late summer.

Official's Viewpoint

The regulator explained: "The job [of the regulator] is there 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 have absolute sympathy for the team's plight, as I do for each organization that in modern times have encountered failure, or approached financial ruin, for factors unrelated to the fans themselves."

When asked if the authority might compel an owner to sell a club if they are judged inappropriate, Kogan said: "If your question is 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the response would be once we collect the information and comprehend the circumstances, we will."

But the regulator clarified that requiring chairmen to relinquish clubs would be considered the final option and the authority would rather to work with them.

"Our least desirable course of action is start getting involved with an individual club, an individual owner, without being in a position to cooperate with that owner to try and resolve the issues that the club's facing and the owner's facing," the chairman stated.

"But the truth is, when you examine the past of football, over the past few decades 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 coming years."

'If we get it wrong, extraordinary progress vanishes'

The regulator engaged representatives from 110 clubs to explain the responsibilities of the oversight body this week and maintained it represented a "progressive gathering" with a "significant participation" from the National League to the Premier League.

"This position carries substantial significance, because should mistakes occur, if the sport makes errors, the remarkable development accomplished might evaporate incredibly quickly," the regulator warned.

"And that's what nobody wants in the realm of domestic football is a huge success story - we've got to keep it going.

"Considerable investment entering the sport and has been invested for the past two decades, because there are no assurances it will keep flowing into the sport, which is among the factors explaining I think we have to maintain a focused outlook on risk and of course, of the immediate future."

Elite Division Worries

The Premier League opposed the establishment of an oversight body because of apprehensions regarding adverse consequences on the Premier League's sporting equality, but Kogan said: "I fully support the success and growth as an financial organization of the Premier League.

"I of all people understand the worry about compromising the Premier League as a premium product of the nation. But concurrently, if you talk to the Premier League after today's meeting, they would have had a significant degree of comfort -and, indeed, they have been telling us in private they have a high level of reassurance."

Ideological Links

The regulator remains subject to a "comprehensive investigation" by the Commissioner for Public Appointments after he revealed he contributed money to the opposition group in recent years.

The chairman donated money to Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport the politician's campaign, along with that of the current Prime Minister.

"I have been entirely transparent regarding my previous political affiliation [with Labour], and that political affiliation came to an end the day the select committee approved my appointment," the regulator explained.

"I currently have no participation in any type of partisan engagement."