'We are going to be a part of football's future' - football oversight chief the regulator's chair
The Championship club's ongoing struggles are seen as a "major concern" and the football regulator is aiming to acquire authority to look into club affairs in similar circumstances, the recently named head the official has announced.
In a wide-ranging interview, the chairman, who was appointed on Monday, expressed "sympathy" towards Wednesday's fanbase.
Kogan met with four supporter groups associated with the Championship side recently.
The football club have been facing challenges both on and off the pitch in this season, with the club failing to pay players on time on multiple instances, including in last month.
"Obviously the club has become a serious issue for football authorities and a significant problem for football," Kogan told.
"The club represents one of the historic institutions for English football and in recent days we have met fan representatives.
"We're now looking to get powers... which will enable us to take the club and similar situations submitted for our review if they warrant scrutiny and acted upon."
Financial Struggles and Proprietorship Status
The team's struggling chairman the current owner indicated in the summer he would be willing to sell up at the stadium, but he has failed to complete a sale with potential new owners.
Missed wage deadlines on time in March and May led to sanctions by the English Football League (EFL) in summer, blocking the team from conducting any player acquisitions for the following recruitment periods, although that restriction was lifted in the end of the transfer window.
Authority's Position
Kogan said: "Our role exists to serve the supporters of Wednesday, other clubs in similar situations where supporters are loyal to a regional establishment that has represented their community in many cases.
"I completely understand the club's situation, as I do for every team that in modern times have encountered failure, or approached financial ruin, for factors unrelated to the supporters."
Inquired if the regulator could force an proprietor to divest a club if they are considered unfit, the chairman responded: "When asking whether 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the response would be once we collect the information and understand the situation, we will."
But the chairman emphasized that forcing owners to sell clubs would be viewed as the ultimate measure and the authority would rather to work with them.
"The last thing what we want to do is start getting involved with an specific team, an specific proprietor, without being in a position to cooperate with that chairman to fix the problems affecting the organization and the chairman's encountering," the chairman stated.
"But the truth is, when you examine the past of the game, over the past few decades there have been certain proprietors, few in number, but some who have been irresponsible in the manner they have operated their clubs and ultimately don't wish to take responsibility for the coming years."
Wednesday followers have been demonstrating against owner Dejphon Chansiri during the current campaign
'If we get it wrong, extraordinary progress vanishes'
Kogan met with delegates from multiple organizations to detail the scope of the authority recently and insisted it was a "progressive gathering" with a "significant participation" from the lower divisions to the top flight.
"It's a job that's actually really important, because if errors are made, if the sport makes errors, the significant advances achieved could disappear incredibly quickly," the chairman stated.
"Such an outcome is universally undesirable in the context of the English game is a major achievement - we need to continue the progress.
"There's an enormous amount of money coming into football and has come into football for the last 20 or 25 years, because certainty is lacking it will continue to come into football, which is among the factors explaining I think we have to adopt a precise perspective on potential dangers and naturally, of the immediate future."
Premier League Concerns
Elite division representatives objected to the creation of a regulator 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 financial organization of the Premier League.
"As someone who appreciates the worry about compromising the Premier League as a premium product of England. But at the same time, if you consult with top flight officials after this week's discussion, they would have had a significant degree of comfort -and, in fact, they have been telling us in private they have a considerable comfort."
Partisan Associations
The chairman continues to confront a "full inquiry" by the official appointments authority after he acknowledged providing funds to the political party in the past.
The chairman donated money to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy's leadership campaign, along with that of the current Prime Minister.
"I have fully disclosed my previous political affiliation [with Labour], and that political affiliation came to an end the day the parliamentary committee confirmed my selection," the regulator explained.
"I currently have no participation in any sort of politics."
