League tycoon Marwan Koukash among potential Jets owners
THE Newcastle Jets could also be on the radar of rugby league-mad British billionaire Marwan Koukash when he heads to Australia this week to pursue his ambition of owning an NRL club.
The Newcastle Herald can reveal the self-made tycoon was one of several potential owners that Jets management met with on their fact-finding trip to the UK last month while trying to sell Nathan Tinkler’s A-League club.
Koukash, one of the biggest owners of racehorses in Britain, is reportedly set to arrive in Australia this week for Melbourne’s spring racing carnival and to meet with NRL officials to discuss his plans to buy a club.
He has been linked to the Newcastle Knights, Gold Coast Titans, St George Illawarra Dragons and even the publicly listed Brisbane Broncos but has said he is not interested in Wests Tigers.
Koukash, a Palestinian refugee, has an estimated fortune of $3billion and has spent up to $7million on Salford Red Devils since saving the cash-strapped UK Super League club almost two years ago.
The 55-year-old has made no secret of his determination to own an NRL club, but the Herald has been told Koukash showed some interest in the Jets when chief executive Robbie Middleby, former Hunter Sports Group CEO Troy Palmer and assistant coach Michael Bridges met with him as part of their nine-day UK tour.
The Herald has been told the Jets have not scheduled another meeting with Koukash, but the fact he will spend the next couple of months in Australia will give club officials a chance to renew talks in person.
Koukash has said he will spend Christmas and new year in Australia and move to the country in the next 18 months.
Tinkler announced in August that he was trying to sell the A-League club and the Jets are believed to be pursuing multiple prospects without a focus on Koukash.
However, buying the Jets could be a foot in the door for Koukash, who has been touted as a potential owner for the Knights since July, a month after Tinkler walked away from the NRL club.
Koukash has spoken with the NRL about his ownership ambitions, but the prospect of him buying the Knights in the short-term appears unlikely.
An NRL spokesman told the Herald last month that the governing body had held ‘‘only very preliminary discussions’’ with Koukash and ‘‘there is no prospect of any sale of the Newcastle Knights at this stage’’.
The NRL is hoping to announce a new seven-person Knights board by the end of this month.
The Jets said last month that ‘‘all discussions regarding the future ownership of the club will understandably be kept confidential and are expected to continue over the coming months’’. ‘‘Given the confidential nature of these discussions, it is in the best interests of the club and parties involved that no further comments will be made until negotiations are complete,’’ the club said.
Originally Posted by cobra23
