Sheffield Wednesday's takeover could speed up as fresh timescale update emerges | OneFootball

A fresh timescale has emerged regarding the Independent Football Regulator's new-look test for owners

A fresh timescale has emerged as to when the Independent Football Regulator's new-look owners and directors test will come into play, and it has a clear impact on the potential takeover of Sheffield Wednesday.

The Owls have been in need of fresh investment for some time now, having entered administration just over a month ago after controversial former owner, Dejphon Chansiri, placed the club into such measures and ended his 10-year stint in the Hillsborough boardroom in the meantime.

As such, Wednesday were handed an automatic 12-point penalty for the aforementioned course of action, before being hit with a further six-point deduction at the beginning of December for multiple breaches of EFL regulations as a result of continuous delayed wage payments to players, management and the club's general staff, as well as several other non-payments made from March onwards.

The Steel City outfit are currently under the temporary stewardship of administrative group, Begbies Traynor, who have strong affiliations to the Championship side, with one of the trio involved in helping address the club's immediate financial position before announcing the next long-term owner, in the form of Kris Wigfield, being a lifelong season-ticket holder at Hillsborough, with the businessman doing his utmost to be as transparent with as many Wednesdayites as possible during an extremely testing period.

Several names have, and do continue to be linked with a takeover move of their own, feats which stretch way back into the final weeks and months of what proved to be a disastrous reign in S6 for Chansiri, who was reportedly holding out for a sum of £100m to relinquish his control before placing the club into administration.

At present, it is believed that a minimum of £30m could be enough for a preferred bidder to be granted exclusivity as Begbies Traynor hope to finalise proceedings as soon as possible.

Several twists and turns have, unsurprisingly, occurred in the race to buy the Owls. However, this latest update could potentially help speed up developments.

Fresh timescale emerges on Independent Football Regulator's new-look ownership test which could impact Sheffield Wednesday

As has become par for the course, each and every single takeover of a Championship, League One and League Two club is severely analysed by the governing body of the EFL, who initially introduced the Owners' and Directors' Test for prospective buyers back in 2004.

During this process, owners are expected to take part in the test to showcase they are not subject to any disqualifications, before having to demonstrate 'Future Financial Information' and 'Source and Sufficiency of Funding', which is a decisive factor within the takeover, as it proves to the EFL that the funding being ploughed into said club is legitimate, allowing for negotiations to eventually be clarified and confirmed publicly.

However, with there being several instances of clubs being the subject of mismanagement in several ways in recent times, such as Bolton Wanderers - who came close to extinction in 2019 - Birmingham City, Blackpool, Coventry City, Hull City and, of course, the Owls, there have been calls for a shake-up when it comes to how owners or consortiums are assessed before plotting several controversial changes.

As such, the Independent Football Regulator came into force in the Autumn of 2025 after being given the green-light through the government's Football Governance Act 2025, with David Kogan appointed as chair, whilst Richard Monks became the body's maiden Chief Executive.

A new test will be in place from the IFR on December 12th. However, this is only to impact owners currently in position, whilst a test for new buyers will come into place in May, with the latter said to have a greater impact on current developments at Hillsborough, according to the Yorkshire Post.

A subsequent report from Sky Sports has also outlined that the new test will be "significantly different" to the one which owners have previously been put up against, whilst Monks has outlined his verdict.

"A new era for football governance is here. The test applies to every club across the top five tiers, and we have the tools to act quickly to help foster sustainable investment in the game," he said.

"We will be able to gather information, investigate and demand action - including, in the most serious cases, the removal of an unsuitable owner."

Sheffield Wednesday takeover race remains unclear at present

Although the aforementioned development may help quicken the takeover process at Hillsborough, it remains to be seen who the latest custodian will be.

An initial deadline of December 5th was set by Begbies Traynor in terms of granting exclusivity. However, with several bids on the table, this has been pushed back into the coming week.

Ex-Newcastle United owner, Mike Ashley, has already seen a £20m bid knocked back, whilst $13.3bn Danish businessman, Anders Holch Povlsen, has been ruled out of the race.

It has even been claimed that some of the interested parties have considered merging in order to strike a quick deal. However, it is clear that supporters are just wanting clarity at this point, with League One football an effective certainty at this point as Henrik Pedersen's side are 27 points from safety with 28 games remaining.