🔗 Share this article Sheffield Wednesday Deals with Serious Challenges, Says Football Regulator 'Our role is integral to football's future' - football oversight chief the new chairman The Championship club's persistent issues are seen as a "serious issue" and the new football authority is aiming to acquire authority to look into club affairs in comparable cases, the newly appointed chairman David Kogan has announced. In a wide-ranging interview, Kogan, who was recently selected, voiced concern towards Wednesday's fanbase. The regulator engaged with four supporter groups connected to the football team recently. The team have been facing challenges both on and off the pitch in 2025, with the club missing wage payments on five separate occasions, including in September. "Clearly Sheffield Wednesday has been a serious issue for football authorities and a substantial concern for English football," the regulator explained. "Wednesday stands as one of the historic institutions for English football and recently we have met fan representatives. "We're now looking to get powers... which will enable us to take Sheffield Wednesday - and other clubs brought to our attention if they require examination and dealt with." Economic Challenges and Ownership Situation The team's struggling chairman Dejphon Chansiri indicated in the summer he would be open to selling the club at Hillsborough, but he has been unable to finalize an agreement with interested parties. Failure to pay player wages on time in spring months led to sanctions by the English Football League (EFL) in mid-year, blocking the team from conducting any transfers or loans for the following recruitment periods, although that restriction was lifted in late summer. Regulator's Perspective The regulator explained: "The position was created for the fans of Sheffield Wednesday, Bury or any football club where people are committed to a regional establishment that has been part of their lives in many cases. "I completely understand Sheffield Wednesday, as I do for every team that in modern times have encountered failure, or been close to going to the wall, for reasons that have nothing to do with the followers." Inquired if the authority might compel an owner to sell a club if they are judged inappropriate, Kogan said: "When asking whether 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the answer is once we gather the evidence and know what's going on, we will." But the chairman emphasized that compelling proprietors to divest clubs would be viewed as the ultimate measure and the regulator would prefer to work with them. "Our least desirable course of action is commence engagement with an particular organization, an particular chairman, without being able to work with that owner to try and resolve the issues that the club's facing and the proprietor's dealing with," the regulator explained. "In actuality, when you look back over the history of the sport, over the past few decades there have been some owners, few in number, but some who have been irresponsible in the manner they have operated their clubs and ultimately refuse to accept accountability for the coming years." Sheffield Wednesday supporters have been demonstrating against owner Dejphon Chansiri during the current campaign 'Mistakes could erase significant advances' The chairman convened with representatives from 110 clubs to detail the scope of the authority recently and stated it constituted a "proactive meeting" with a "high level of engagement" from the National League to the Premier League. "This position carries substantial significance, because if errors are made, if the world of football gets it wrong, the extraordinary progress that's been made could disappear rapidly," the chairman stated. "This represents everyone's worst fear in the realm of domestic football is a huge success story - we must maintain momentum. "There's an enormous amount of money flowing into the game and has been invested for the last 20 or 25 years, because there's no guarantee it will keep flowing into the sport, which is among the factors explaining 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 creation of a regulator because of fears of a negative impact on the Premier League's sporting equality, but the regulator stated: "I'm absolutely committed to the success and growth as an commercial operation of the Premier League. "Being fully aware of the worry about compromising the division as a high-quality offering of the nation. But at the same time, if you consult with top flight officials after the recent gathering, they would have had a high level of reassurance -and, actually, they have been telling us in private they have a considerable comfort." Ideological Links The regulator remains subject to a "thorough examination" by the public appointments commissioner after he disclosed making donations to the political party in 2020. The 68-year-old donated money to government minister the politician's campaign, along with that of the now Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. "I have fully disclosed my previous political affiliation [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 form of political activity."