October 10 – English football’s newest regulator, David Kogan, is going in ‘studs-up’ as the game’s first independent regulator, saying he’s ready to blow the whistle on bad ownership and financial chaos.
“Sheffield Wednesday has been a significant problem,” Kogan told the BBC. Five times this year, the Championship club failed to pay its players on time. Supporters are angry at ownership and fear for the very future of their club, while the EFL has looked powerless. It is hoped that Kogan’s arrival could change that.
“Sheffield Wednesday is one of the great brands for English football and this week we have met Sheffield Wednesday supporters’ groups.
“We’re now looking to get powers which will allow us to have Sheffield Wednesday – and other clubs – referred to us if they need to be investigated and acted upon.”
For the first time, football’s new watchdog would have the authority to step in and, if the situation demanded it, may force unfit owners to sell. “As a last resort,” Kogan insists. But as football sees clubs teeter on the verge of extinction, last resorts are sometimes all that’s left.
Kogan’s brief stretches from the Premier League boardroom to the terraces of League Two. He’s promised to review how money flows through the pyramid, while demanding transparency from owners who are rarely part of the community, and seemingly see clubs as a pathway to riches.
At the top of this pyramid is the Premier League, and with owners who are intent on squeezing every last penny out of their investments, the last thing they want is an independent regulator.
Kogan said: “I’m absolutely committed to the success and growth of the Premier League,” but he warned that English football’s financial boom “is no guarantee to last.”
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