'We are going to be a part of football's future' - football oversight chief David Kogan
Sheffield Wednesday's ongoing struggles constitute a "major concern" and the new football authority is seeking powers to examine team situations in similar circumstances, its new chair the official has announced.
Through a comprehensive talk, the regulator, who was appointed on Monday, expressed "sympathy" towards the club's followers.
The chairman convened with four fan organizations associated with the Championship side recently.
The Championship side 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 September.
"Obviously the club has become a serious issue for football authorities and a significant problem for football," the chairman stated.
"The club represents one of the historic institutions for football in England and this week we have met Sheffield Wednesday supporters' groups.
"We're now looking to get powers... which will permit us to bring the club and similar situations referred to us if they require examination and acted upon."
Monetary Issues and Proprietorship Status
The team's struggling chairman the current owner stated during the off-season he would be prepared to relinquish control at their home ground, but he has not been able to secure a deal with prospective buyers.
Failure to pay player wages on time in March and May led to sanctions by the English Football League (EFL) in mid-year, preventing the club from carrying out any player acquisitions for the following recruitment periods, although those limitations were removed in late summer.
Authority's Position
Kogan said: "Our role exists to serve the supporters of Wednesday, other clubs in similar situations where fans are dedicated to a regional establishment that has represented their community in multiple situations.
"I fully appreciate Sheffield Wednesday, as I do for all the clubs that in modern times have encountered failure, or been close to going to the wall, for reasons that have nothing to do with the fans themselves."
Inquired if the regulator could force an chairman to relinquish a club if they are considered unfit, the regulator answered: "If your question is 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the answer is once we assemble the facts and know what's going on, we will."
But the chairman emphasized that forcing owners to sell clubs would be treated as a "last resort" and the oversight body would choose to collaborate with owners.
"The final option we would consider is begin intervening in 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 owner's facing," Kogan said.
"But the truth is, when you look back over the history of the game, over the past few decades there have been certain proprietors, 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 coming years."
Sheffield Wednesday supporters have been demonstrating against the current proprietor in recent months
'Mistakes could erase significant advances'
Kogan met with representatives from 110 clubs to lay out the remit of the authority recently and stated it constituted a "progressive gathering" with a "substantial involvement" from the lower divisions to the top flight.
"The role holds considerable importance, because should mistakes occur, if the sport makes errors, the extraordinary progress that's been made might evaporate rapidly," the regulator warned.
"And that's what nobody wants in the terms of English football is a huge success story - we've got to keep it going.
"There's an enormous amount of money flowing into the game and has been channeled for the recent generations, because certainty is lacking it will persist in entering the game, which is among the factors explaining I think we have to maintain a focused outlook on risk and of course, of the next two or three years."
Top Flight Apprehensions
The Premier League opposed the creation of a regulator because of apprehensions regarding adverse consequences on the elite division's competitive balance, but the chairman responded: "I'm absolutely committed to the success and growth as an commercial operation of the elite league.
"Being fully aware of the concern of undermining the top flight as an elite competition of England. But concurrently, if you talk to the Premier League after this week's discussion, they would have had a high level of reassurance -and, in fact, they have been informing us confidentially they have a high level of reassurance."
Political Connections
The regulator remains subject to a "full inquiry" by the official appointments authority after he revealed he contributed money to the opposition group in recent years.
The 68-year-old donated money to Culture Secretary the minister's leadership bid, along with that of the government leader.
"I've been completely open about my past party membership [with Labour], and that party membership ceased the day the select committee approved my appointment," the chairman stated.
"I am presently disconnected from any form of political activity."
