'Our role is integral to football's future' - newly appointed regulator the new chairman
The Championship club's ongoing struggles are seen as a "significant problem" and the independent regulator is aiming to acquire authority to investigate clubs in such situations, the newly appointed chairman David Kogan has declared.
In a wide-ranging interview, the chairman, who was recently selected, expressed "sympathy" towards supporters of the Owls.
The regulator engaged with four supporter groups representing the football team in recent days.
The Championship side have been experiencing difficulties in multiple areas in this season, 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 significant problem for football," the chairman stated.
"Sheffield Wednesday is one of the historic institutions for football in England and this week we have met fan representatives.
"We are seeking authority... which will allow us to have Wednesday and comparable cases submitted for our review if they require examination and addressed."
Financial Struggles and Proprietorship Status
Wednesday's embattled owner the Thai businessman 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.
Delayed salary payments on time in March and May resulted in restrictions being imposed by the football authorities in June, preventing the club from carrying out any recruitment activities for the next three transfer windows, although those limitations were removed in the end of the transfer window.
Authority's Position
Kogan said: "The job [of the regulator] is there for the supporters of Wednesday, teams facing challenges where supporters are loyal to a local institution that has been part of their lives in numerous instances.
"I completely understand the club's situation, as I do for all the clubs that in modern times have encountered failure, or been close to going to the wall, for factors unrelated to the fans themselves."
When asked if the regulator could force an owner to sell 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 assemble the facts and understand the situation, we will."
But Kogan stressed that requiring chairmen to relinquish clubs would be viewed as the ultimate measure and the oversight body would choose to collaborate with owners.
"The final option we would consider is begin intervening in an specific team, an specific proprietor, without having the opportunity to collaborate with that owner to try and resolve the issues that the club's facing and the proprietor's dealing with," the chairman stated.
"However, realistically, when you examine the past of the sport, over the past few decades there have been some owners, not many, but some who have been irresponsible in the manner they have operated their clubs and ultimately decline to assume obligation for the long-term prospects."
Sheffield Wednesday supporters have been protesting against the team's chairman this season
'Mistakes could erase significant advances'
Kogan met with officials from numerous teams to detail the scope of the authority recently and maintained it represented a "proactive meeting" with a "substantial involvement" from the lower divisions to the top flight.
"This position carries substantial significance, because if errors are made, if the sport makes errors, the significant advances achieved might evaporate rapidly," the regulator warned.
"Such an outcome is universally undesirable in the terms of English football is a major achievement - we've got to keep it going.
"Considerable investment coming into football and has come into football for the past two decades, because there are no assurances it will persist in entering the game, which is one of the reasons why I think we have to adopt a precise perspective on challenges and obviously, of the next two or three years."
Premier League Concerns
Top flight officials resisted the creation of a regulator because of fears of a negative impact on the top-flight's competitiveness, but Kogan said: "I'm absolutely committed to the prosperity and expansion as an financial organization of the top division.
"Being fully aware of the apprehension regarding damaging the Premier League as a premium product of the nation. But at the same time, if you consult with top flight officials after the recent gathering, they would have had a significant degree of comfort -and, actually, they have been informing us confidentially they have a significant confidence."
Partisan Associations
The regulator remains subject to a "comprehensive investigation" by the public appointments commissioner after he acknowledged providing funds to the Labour Party in the past.
The 68-year-old donated money to government minister Lisa Nandy's leadership campaign, along with that of the current Prime Minister.
"I have fully disclosed my past party membership [with Labour], and that party membership ceased the day the parliamentary committee confirmed my selection," the regulator explained.
"I currently have no participation in any type of partisan engagement."
