Football regulator to hold power over club ownership amid Sheffield Wednesday crisis | OneFootball

English football’s new independent regulator could be granted the power to force club owners to sell, marking one of the most significant governance shifts in the sport’s modern history, BBC Sport reports.

Newly appointed chair David Kogan said that the authority to compel sales would only be used as a “last resort” but admitted the measure may be necessary to protect clubs from “irresponsible” ownership. “If your question is, would we intervene in the final instance? The answer is yes, once we gather the evidence and know what’s going on, we will.”

The move follows mounting concerns over Sheffield Wednesday’s financial troubles, with the Championship club repeatedly failing to pay players on time this year. Kogan expressed “absolute sympathy” for supporters, calling the situation a “significant problem” for the English Football League and revealing that the regulator is seeking powers to investigate and act on struggling clubs.

Kogan emphasised that the regulator’s primary objective is stability and sustainability across the football pyramid, ensuring fans are safeguarded from financial mismanagement. He also acknowledged the delicate balance between oversight and maintaining the Premier League’s global competitiveness, assuring top-flight executives the regulator’s aim is to protect, not hinder, the game’s commercial success.

The new watchdog will also seek to end the stalemate over financial redistribution between the Premier League and the EFL, a long-standing flashpoint in the game.

Kogan, a former media executive instrumental in negotiating lucrative TV rights deals, warned that the sport’s prosperity “cannot be taken for granted.” He added: “If football gets it wrong, the extraordinary progress of recent decades could vanish very quickly.”

GFN | Finn Entwistle