Gareth Owen (born 21 October 1971) is a Welsh former
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
, who played as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for various English and Welsh clubs between 1989 and 2011. He is currently the manager of Wrexham AFC Women Under 19s.
Career
Owen spent twelve years as a professional at
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
, and was rewarded by a testimonial match against Manchester United in 2000 which drew a crowd of 13,000 to the Racecourse Ground. He then spent two years at
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
Rhyl
Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Flintshire (historic), Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at ...
on a one-year deal to play under his former assistant manager at Airbus, Allan Bickerstaff. In May 2009 he was named as the
Welsh Premier League
The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 20 ...
's Player of the Season. He remained at the club for three years before returning to Airbus in June 2011 as head coach.
He also works in North Wales as Football Development Officer with
County Council, where one of key roles is to develop women's football in the region.
He was appointed head coach at
Airbus UK
Airbus UK is a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus which produces wings for Airbus aircraft. When Airbus was incorporated as a joint-stock company in 2001, BAE Systems transferred its UK Airbus facilities in return for a 20% share of the new compa ...
in 2011 but left the club in January 2012 when
Andy Preece
Andrew Preece (born 27 March 1967) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is currently the manager of Chorley.
In the summer of 2021 Owen was appointed manager of Wrexham AFC Women's under-19s, guiding them to a league title in their first campaign.
International
Owen was capped by Wales at Under 21 level and 'B' international level. He was called up to the full international team in 1998 but did not play.
Honours
Player
Wrexham
*
Third Division
In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below.
Association football
*Belgian Thir ...
Welsh Cup
The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...
FAW Premier Cup
The FAW Premier Cup (until 1998 the FAW Invitation Cup) was a Welsh football cup competition, organised annually by the Football Association of Wales from 1997 to 2008. Since the FAW excluded clubs playing in English leagues (including six Welsh c ...
Welsh Premier League
The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 20 ...
PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...
Welsh Premier League
The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 20 ...
Player of the Season: 2008–09
* Welsh Premier League Team of the Year: 2008–09.