Marwan Koukash

Marwan Koukash (born in Palestine, December 1958) although he was declared bankrupt in 2022.

Early life and business career Koukash was born on the west bank of the River Jordan in December 1958 in Palestine. When he was eight years old, a nearby Jordanian army base was bombed by the Israeli Air Force and fear of the planes made his family leave their farm and the family crossed into Jordan before settling in Kuwait,

Rugby League Salford Red Devils In 2013, Koukash took over the loss-making Super League club, Salford City Reds. His interest in rugby league began when he went to watch St. Helens matches with his family. He was encouraged to take ownership of Salford by the Rugby Football League chief executive Nigel Wood, who had met Koukash on a flight to Dubai.

National Rugby League In 2014, Koukash made public his ambitions of purchasing a team in the Australian National Rugby League (NRL) before the 2015 season. The NRL is considered the world's most competitive rugby league competition, in a country where rugby league is far more popular than rugby union.

In 2016, he also announced his plans to take a British team (the "British Bulldogs") and have them play in the NRL in Australia, with the help of airline and hotel sponsorship.