'Our role is integral to football's future' - newly appointed regulator the regulator's chair
The team's current difficulties represent a a "significant problem" and the independent regulator is seeking powers to look into club affairs in comparable cases, the newly appointed chairman the official has announced.
During an extensive discussion, the regulator, who was named to the position this week, showed understanding towards supporters of the Owls.
Kogan met with four supporters' associations associated with the South Yorkshire club in recent days.
The football club have been struggling on and off the field in the current year, with the club failing to pay players on time on five separate occasions, including in September.
"Evidently Wednesday represents a serious issue for football authorities and a major challenge for the sport," the chairman stated.
"Wednesday stands as one of the great brands for the English game and recently we have met supporters' organizations.
"We are seeking authority... which will permit us to bring Wednesday and comparable cases referred to us if they warrant scrutiny and acted upon."
Financial Struggles and Proprietorship Status
Wednesday's embattled owner Dejphon Chansiri indicated in the summer 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 spring months led to sanctions by the league officials in mid-year, preventing the club from carrying out any player acquisitions for the following recruitment periods, although the ban was rescinded in late summer.
Authority's Position
Kogan said: "Our role exists to serve the supporters of Wednesday, Bury or any football club where supporters are loyal to a regional establishment that has existed throughout their lifetimes in many cases.
"I have absolute sympathy for the team's plight, as I do for each organization that over recent decades have faced collapse, or been close to going to the wall, for factors unrelated to the fans themselves."
When asked if the oversight body could require an chairman to relinquish a club if they are deemed unsuitable, the chairman responded: "If your question is 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the answer is once we assemble the facts and understand the situation, we will."
But the regulator clarified that requiring chairmen to relinquish clubs would be treated as a "last resort" and the authority would rather to collaborate with owners.
"The last thing what we want to do is start getting involved with an individual club, an individual owner, without being in a position to cooperate with that proprietor to address the issues that the club's facing and the proprietor's dealing with," the regulator explained.
"But the truth is, when you examine the past of football, over the recent generations there have been particular chairmen, a small minority, but particular people who have shown negligence in the way which they've been managing their clubs and ultimately decline to assume obligation for the future."
Sheffield Wednesday supporters have been demonstrating 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 insisted it was a "progressive gathering" with a "substantial involvement" from the lower divisions to the top flight.
"The role holds considerable importance, because if we get it wrong, if the sport makes errors, the remarkable development accomplished might evaporate incredibly quickly," Kogan said.
"And that's what nobody wants in the realm of domestic football is a major achievement - we need to continue the progress.
"Considerable investment flowing into the game and has come into football for the last 20 or 25 years, because there are no assurances it will keep flowing into the sport, which is among the factors explaining I think we have to adopt a precise perspective on risk and of course, of the immediate future."
Top Flight Apprehensions
Top flight officials resisted the formation of an authority because of concerns about detrimental effects on the elite division's competitive balance, but the chairman responded: "I completely endorse the prosperity and expansion 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 concurrently, if you talk to the Premier League after the recent gathering, they would have had a significant degree of comfort -and, in fact, they have been advising us privately they have a considerable comfort."
Partisan Associations
The chairman continues to confront a "thorough examination" by the Commissioner for Public Appointments after he acknowledged providing funds to the Labour Party in the past.
The official provided financial support for government minister the politician's campaign, along with that of the government leader.
"I've been completely open about my past party membership [with Labour], and that ideological connection terminated the day the select committee approved my appointment," Kogan said.
"I am no longer involved in any type of partisan engagement."
