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The team's ongoing struggles are seen as a "major concern" and the independent regulator is looking to gain the ability to investigate clubs in such situations, its new chair David Kogan has declared.

Through a comprehensive talk, Kogan, who was appointed on Monday, voiced concern towards Wednesday's fanbase.

The chairman convened with four supporter groups connected to the South Yorkshire club in recent days.

The team have been struggling on and off the field in this season, with the club failing to pay players on time on multiple instances, including in the autumn.

"Obviously the club has become a significant problem for EFL and a substantial concern for English football," the chairman stated.

"Sheffield Wednesday is one of the historic institutions for English football and recently we have met Sheffield Wednesday supporters' groups.

"We're now looking to get powers... which will permit us to bring Wednesday and comparable cases submitted for our review if they need to be investigated and dealt with."

Financial Struggles and Leadership Concerns

The club's controversial proprietor the Thai businessman indicated in the summer he would be prepared to relinquish control at the stadium, but he has failed to complete a sale with prospective buyers.

Missed wage deadlines on time in earlier this year led to sanctions by the football authorities in June, stopping Wednesday from completing any transfers or loans for the next three transfer windows, although the ban was rescinded in late summer.

Regulator's Perspective

The chairman stated: "The job [of the regulator] is there for the supporters of Wednesday, other clubs in similar situations where people are committed to a regional establishment that has existed throughout their lifetimes in numerous instances.

"I have absolute sympathy for the team's plight, as I do for every team that over recent decades have faced collapse, or been close to going to the wall, for reasons that have nothing to do with the followers."

Questioned about whether the regulator could force an chairman to relinquish a club if they are considered unfit, the chairman responded: "If your question is 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the response would be 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 viewed as the ultimate measure and the regulator would prefer to cooperate with proprietors.

"The last thing what we want to do is begin intervening in an particular organization, an specific proprietor, without being in a position to cooperate with that owner to try and resolve the challenges confronting the team and the proprietor's dealing with," the chairman stated.

"In actuality, when you review the record of the game, over the last 20 or 30 years there have been certain proprietors, a small minority, but particular people who have shown negligence in the way which they've been managing their organizations and finally decline to assume obligation for the coming years."

'Errors may undo substantial development'

The regulator engaged officials from numerous teams to explain the responsibilities of the authority recently and maintained it represented a "forward-thinking discussion" with a "high level of engagement" from the National League to the Premier League.

"It's a job that's actually really important, because if we get it wrong, if the world of football gets it wrong, the significant advances achieved could disappear rapidly," Kogan said.

"And that's what nobody wants in the realm of domestic football is a huge success story - we've got to keep it going.

"There's an enormous amount of money entering the sport and has come into football for the recent generations, because there's no guarantee it will persist in entering the game, which is among the factors explaining I think we have to adopt a precise perspective on risk and of course, of the next two or three years."

Top Flight Apprehensions

Top flight officials resisted the establishment of an oversight body because of fears of a negative impact on the elite division's competitive balance, but the chairman responded: "I'm absolutely committed to the achievement and development as an economic entity of the top division.

"I of all people understand the apprehension regarding damaging the division as a high-quality offering of England. But simultaneously, if you engage with division representatives after today's meeting, they would have had a significant degree of comfort -and, in fact, they have been advising us privately they have a significant confidence."

Political Connections

Kogan is still facing a "full inquiry" by the public appointments commissioner after he disclosed making donations to the Labour Party in the past.

The official provided financial support for Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport the minister's leadership bid, along with that of the current Prime Minister.

"I have been entirely transparent regarding my former ideological connection [with Labour], and that ideological connection terminated the day the official body endorsed my nomination," the chairman stated.

"I am presently disconnected from any type of partisan engagement."