'We will play a key role in football's future' - football oversight chief the new chairman
The Championship club's current difficulties are seen as a "significant problem" and the football regulator is seeking powers to examine team situations in such situations, the newly appointed chairman the official has stated.
In a wide-ranging interview, the regulator, who was appointed on Monday, voiced concern towards supporters of the Owls.
The chairman convened with four supporters' associations connected to the football team this week.
The team have been struggling on and off the field in this season, with the club failing to pay players on time on five separate occasions, including in the autumn.
"Obviously the club has become a significant problem for EFL and a major challenge for the sport," Kogan told.
"Wednesday stands as one of the iconic names for English football and this week we have met Sheffield Wednesday supporters' groups.
"We are seeking authority... which will permit us to bring Wednesday and comparable cases brought to our attention if they need to be investigated and addressed."
Financial Struggles and Proprietorship Status
The team's struggling chairman the current owner suggested earlier this year he would be open to selling the club at the stadium, but he has been unable to finalize an agreement with prospective buyers.
Failure to pay player wages on time in March and May resulted in restrictions being imposed by the English Football League (EFL) in June, preventing the club from carrying out any player acquisitions for the following recruitment periods, although those limitations were removed in late summer.
Official's Viewpoint
Kogan said: "The position was created for the Owls followers, teams facing challenges where fans are dedicated to a local institution that has been part of their lives in numerous instances.
"I completely understand the team's plight, as I do for every team that since 1992 have gone to the wall, or approached financial ruin, for factors unrelated to the followers."
Questioned about whether the authority might compel an owner to sell a club if they are considered unfit, Kogan said: "Should the inquiry concern 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the response would be once we collect the information and know what's going on, we will."
But the regulator clarified that forcing owners to sell clubs would be viewed as the ultimate measure and the oversight body would choose to work with them.
"The final option we would consider is begin intervening in an specific team, an specific proprietor, without being in a position to cooperate with that chairman to fix the challenges confronting the team and the owner's facing," the regulator explained.
"In actuality, when you look back over the history of the game, over the past few decades there have been some owners, a small minority, but particular people who have shown negligence in the way which they've been managing their organizations and finally refuse to accept accountability for the future."
Sheffield Wednesday supporters have been demonstrating against the current proprietor in recent months
'If we get it wrong, extraordinary progress vanishes'
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.
"The role holds considerable importance, because should mistakes occur, if the football community fails, the significant advances achieved might evaporate incredibly quickly," Kogan said.
"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 flowing into the game and has come into football for the last 20 or 25 years, because there's no guarantee it will keep flowing into the sport, which is one of the reasons why I think we have to maintain a focused outlook on challenges and obviously, of the immediate future."
Premier League Concerns
Top flight officials resisted the formation of an authority because of fears of a negative impact on the top-flight's competitiveness, but the chairman responded: "I'm absolutely committed to the success and growth as an economic entity of the top division.
"Being fully aware of the concern of undermining the Premier League as a premium product of England. But at the same time, if you talk to the Premier League after this week's discussion, they would have had a significant degree of comfort -and, indeed, they have been telling us in private they have a significant confidence."
Political Connections
Kogan is still facing a "comprehensive investigation" by the public appointments commissioner after he disclosed making donations to the political party in recent years.
The chairman provided financial support for Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy's leadership campaign, along with that of the current Prime Minister.
"I have been entirely transparent regarding my former ideological connection [with Labour], and that ideological connection terminated the day the official body endorsed my nomination," Kogan said.
"I currently have no participation in any type of partisan engagement."
