'We are going to be a part of football's future' - newly appointed regulator the new chairman
The team's current difficulties are seen as a "major concern" and the football regulator is looking to gain the ability to look into club affairs in comparable cases, the newly appointed chairman the official has stated.
In a wide-ranging interview, the chairman, who was named to the position this week, expressed "sympathy" towards supporters of the Owls.
The regulator engaged with four supporter groups associated with the Championship side recently.
The football club have been struggling on and off the field in 2025, with the club missing wage payments on multiple instances, including in last month.
"Clearly Sheffield Wednesday has been a serious issue for football authorities and a substantial concern for English football," the regulator explained.
"The club represents one of the historic institutions for English football and in recent days we have met supporters' organizations.
"Our aim is to acquire the ability... which will enable us to take Sheffield Wednesday - and other clubs submitted for our review if they need to be investigated and acted upon."
Monetary Issues and Proprietorship Status
The club's controversial proprietor the current owner indicated in the summer he would be prepared to relinquish control at Hillsborough, but he has been unable to finalize an agreement with potential new owners.
Failure to pay player wages on time in spring months caused limitations by the football authorities in mid-year, blocking the team from conducting any player acquisitions for the following recruitment periods, although that restriction was lifted in August.
Authority's Position
Kogan said: "The job [of the regulator] is there for the Owls followers, Bury or any football club where fans are dedicated to a local institution that has been part of their lives in numerous instances.
"I have absolute sympathy for the team's plight, as I do for all the clubs that over recent decades have faced collapse, or nearly ceased operations, for causes separate from the fans themselves."
Inquired if the regulator could force an proprietor to divest a club if they are considered unfit, the chairman responded: "Should the inquiry concern 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the answer is once we gather the evidence and comprehend the circumstances, we will."
But Kogan stressed that forcing owners to sell clubs would be treated as a "last resort" and the oversight body would choose to cooperate with proprietors.
"The last thing what we want to do is begin intervening in an individual club, an specific proprietor, without being able to work with that chairman to fix the problems affecting the organization and the chairman's encountering," the regulator explained.
"In actuality, when you review the record of the sport, over the last 20 or 30 years there have been some owners, not many, but particular people who have shown negligence 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 delegates from multiple organizations to lay out the remit of the oversight body this week and insisted it was a "progressive gathering" with a "significant participation" from the grassroots to elite level.
"This position carries substantial significance, because if we get it wrong, if the football community fails, the significant advances achieved might evaporate swiftly," Kogan said.
"And that's what nobody wants in the context of the English game is a substantial accomplishment - we need to continue the progress.
"Considerable investment entering the sport and has been channeled for the past two decades, because certainty is lacking it will persist in entering the game, which is one of the reasons why I think we have to adopt a precise perspective on risk and of course, of the next two or three years."
Top Flight Apprehensions
Top flight officials resisted the establishment of an oversight body because of apprehensions regarding adverse consequences on the elite division's competitive balance, but the regulator stated: "I'm absolutely committed to the prosperity and expansion as an commercial operation of the Premier League.
"I of all people understand the concern of undermining 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 significant degree of comfort -and, in fact, they have been informing us confidentially they have a significant confidence."
Partisan Associations
Kogan is still facing a "thorough examination" by the Commissioner for Public Appointments after he disclosed making donations to the political party in 2020.
The 68-year-old donated money to Culture Secretary the politician's campaign, along with that of the current Prime Minister.
"I've been completely open about my previous political affiliation [with Labour], and that party membership ceased the day the parliamentary committee confirmed my selection," Kogan said.
"I am presently disconnected from any type of partisan engagement."
