'We are going to be a part of football's future' - football oversight chief the regulator's chair
The Championship club's persistent issues constitute a "significant problem" and the independent regulator is looking to gain the ability to examine team situations in comparable cases, the newly appointed chairman the official has stated.
During an extensive discussion, the chairman, who was recently selected, expressed "sympathy" towards the club's followers.
The chairman convened with four fan organizations associated with the football team this week.
The team have been experiencing difficulties in multiple areas in 2025, with the club failing to pay players on time on several different times, including in September.
"Evidently Wednesday represents a serious issue for football authorities and a substantial concern for English football," the chairman stated.
"The club represents one of the historic institutions for the English game and in recent days we have met supporters' organizations.
"Our aim is to acquire the ability... which will enable us to take Wednesday and comparable cases submitted for our review if they need to be investigated and addressed."
Financial Struggles and Ownership Situation
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 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, blocking the team from conducting any player acquisitions for the subsequent signing windows, although the ban was rescinded in the end of the transfer window.
Authority's Position
Kogan said: "The position was created for the supporters of Wednesday, Bury or any football club where fans are dedicated to a community organization that has been part of their lives in multiple situations.
"I have absolute sympathy for the club's situation, as I do for every team that in modern times have encountered failure, or approached financial ruin, for factors unrelated to the fans themselves."
When asked 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 comprehend the circumstances, we will."
But the regulator clarified that forcing owners to sell 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 commence engagement with an particular organization, 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.
"However, realistically, when you review the record of the sport, over the last 20 or 30 years there have been certain proprietors, not many, but some who have been irresponsible in the way which they've been managing their teams and eventually refuse to accept accountability for the future."
Owls fans have been demonstrating against the current proprietor this season
'Errors may undo substantial development'
The chairman convened with representatives from 110 clubs to detail the scope of the oversight body this week and stated it constituted a "progressive gathering" with a "significant participation" from the National League to the Premier League.
"The role holds considerable importance, because if we get it wrong, if the world of football gets it wrong, the significant advances achieved necessary will vanish swiftly," Kogan said.
"And that's what nobody wants in the realm of domestic football is a major achievement - we must maintain momentum.
"Substantial financial resources coming into football 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 one of the reasons why I think we have to maintain a focused outlook on risk and of course, of the next two or three years."
Premier League Concerns
Elite division representatives objected to the formation of an authority because of concerns about detrimental effects on the Premier League's sporting equality, but the chairman responded: "I completely endorse the success and growth as an financial organization of the top division.
"I of all people understand the worry about compromising the division as a high-quality offering of the nation. But simultaneously, if you engage with division representatives after this week's discussion, they would have had a high level of reassurance -and, indeed, they have been telling us in private they have a high level of reassurance."
Political Connections
The chairman continues to confront a "comprehensive investigation" by the public appointments commissioner after he disclosed making donations to the opposition group in recent years.
The official donated money to Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy's leadership campaign, along with that of the current Prime Minister.
"I've been completely open about my past party membership [with Labour], and that party membership ceased the day the parliamentary committee confirmed my selection," the chairman stated.
"I currently have no participation in any type of partisan engagement."
