🔗 Share this article Sheff Wed Confronts Major Issues, Says New Football Authority 'We are going to be a part of football's future' - independent football regulator the regulator's chair Sheffield Wednesday's current difficulties represent a a "significant problem" and the new football authority is looking to gain the ability to investigate clubs in such situations, the recently named head the official has declared. In a wide-ranging interview, the regulator, who was named to the position this week, voiced concern towards Wednesday's fanbase. The chairman convened with four supporter groups representing 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 delaying salary disbursements on several different times, including in the autumn. "Clearly Sheffield Wednesday has been a significant problem for EFL and a significant problem for football," Kogan told. "Wednesday stands as one of the historic institutions for English football and this week we have met supporters' organizations. "We're now looking to get powers... which will allow us to have Wednesday and comparable cases submitted for our review if they need to be investigated and dealt with." Financial Struggles and Proprietorship Status The team's struggling chairman Dejphon Chansiri suggested earlier this year 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 earlier this year resulted in restrictions being imposed by the English Football League (EFL) in summer, blocking the team from conducting any recruitment activities for the next three transfer windows, although the ban was rescinded in August. Regulator's Perspective The regulator explained: "The job [of the regulator] is there for the supporters of Wednesday, Bury or any football club where fans are dedicated to a community organization that has existed throughout their lifetimes in many cases. "I completely understand the team's plight, as I do for every team that since 1992 have gone to the wall, or been close to going to the wall, for factors unrelated to the followers." Questioned about whether the authority might compel an chairman to relinquish a club if they are considered unfit, the regulator answered: "When asking whether 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the answer is once we assemble the facts and understand the situation, we will." But the chairman emphasized that compelling proprietors to divest 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 particular chairman, without having the opportunity to collaborate with that proprietor to address the challenges confronting the team and the owner's facing," the chairman stated. "However, realistically, when you review the record of the game, over the last 20 or 30 years there have been some owners, a small minority, but certain individuals who have acted carelessly in the way which they've been managing their organizations and finally decline to assume obligation for the long-term prospects." Owls fans have been voicing opposition to the current proprietor in recent months 'If we get it wrong, extraordinary progress vanishes' Kogan met with officials from numerous teams to explain the responsibilities of the authority recently and insisted it was a "forward-thinking discussion" with a "substantial involvement" from the lower divisions to the top flight. "It's a job that's actually really important, because if errors are made, if the world of football gets it wrong, the extraordinary progress that's been made might evaporate swiftly," Kogan said. "Such an outcome is universally undesirable in the terms of English football is a huge success story - we need to continue the progress. "There's an enormous amount of money coming into football and has been channeled for the past two decades, because there are no assurances it will persist in entering the game, which is part of the rationale behind I think we have to maintain a focused outlook on potential dangers and naturally, of the coming seasons." Premier League Concerns Elite division representatives objected to the creation of a regulator because of concerns about detrimental effects on the Premier League's sporting equality, but Kogan said: "I completely endorse the success and growth as an commercial operation of the elite league. "As someone who appreciates the worry about compromising the division as a high-quality offering of England. But simultaneously, 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 considerable comfort." Partisan Associations 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 contributed funds to Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport the minister's leadership bid, along with that of the government leader. "I've been completely open about my former ideological connection [with Labour], and that ideological connection terminated the day the select committee approved my appointment," Kogan said. "I currently have no participation in any sort of politics."