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Sheffield Wednesday's ongoing struggles represent a a "major concern" and the independent regulator is aiming to acquire authority to investigate clubs in similar circumstances, the newly appointed chairman David Kogan has stated.

Through a comprehensive talk, the regulator, who was named to the position this week, expressed "sympathy" towards the club's followers.

The chairman convened with four fan organizations connected to the football team in recent days.

The football club have been facing challenges both on and off the pitch in this season, with the club missing wage payments on several different times, including in last month.

"Evidently Wednesday represents a serious issue for football authorities and a significant problem for football," Kogan told.

"Sheffield Wednesday is one of the iconic names for English football 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 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 willing to sell up at Hillsborough, but he has failed to complete a sale with interested parties.

Failure to pay player wages on time in spring months resulted in restrictions being imposed by the football authorities in mid-year, stopping Wednesday from completing any transfers or loans for the next three transfer windows, although those limitations were removed in late summer.

Regulator's Perspective

Kogan said: "Our role exists to serve the Owls followers, other clubs in similar situations where people are committed to a community organization that has existed throughout their lifetimes in numerous instances.

"I have absolute sympathy for the club's situation, as I do for every team that over recent decades have faced collapse, or approached financial ruin, for reasons that have nothing to do with the fans themselves."

Inquired if the authority might compel an chairman to relinquish a club if they are judged inappropriate, Kogan said: "Should the inquiry concern 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the reply is once we assemble the facts and know what's going on, we will."

But the chairman emphasized that compelling proprietors to divest clubs would be considered the final option and the authority would rather to cooperate with proprietors.

"Our least desirable course of action is commence engagement with an specific team, an specific proprietor, without being able to work with that owner to try and resolve the issues that the club's facing and the owner's facing," the regulator explained.

"However, realistically, when you look back over the history of football, over the recent generations there have been some owners, a small minority, but some who have been irresponsible in the manner they have operated their clubs and ultimately refuse to accept accountability for the coming years."

'Errors may undo substantial development'

The regulator engaged delegates from multiple organizations to lay out the remit of the authority recently and stated it constituted a "progressive gathering" with a "significant participation" from the grassroots to elite level.

"It's a job that's actually really important, because if errors are made, if the football community fails, the extraordinary progress that's been made might evaporate incredibly quickly," Kogan said.

"And that's what nobody wants in the realm of domestic football is a substantial accomplishment - we must maintain momentum.

"There's an enormous amount of money entering the sport and has been channeled for the last 20 or 25 years, because certainty is lacking it will keep flowing into the sport, which is one of the reasons why I think we have to take a really clear view on challenges and obviously, of the coming seasons."

Elite Division Worries

Top flight officials resisted the formation of an authority because of fears of a negative impact on the elite division's competitive balance, but Kogan said: "I'm absolutely committed to the success and growth as an financial organization of the Premier League.

"As someone who appreciates the concern of undermining the Premier League as a premium product of England. But at the same time, if you consult with top flight officials after the recent gathering, they would have had a high level of reassurance -and, in fact, they have been informing us confidentially they have a considerable comfort."

Partisan Associations

The regulator remains subject to a "comprehensive investigation" by the Commissioner for Public Appointments after he acknowledged providing funds to the political party in 2020.

The official provided financial support for Culture Secretary the politician's campaign, along with that of the now Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

"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," Kogan said.

"I am presently disconnected from any sort of politics."