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 before moving to
Connah's Quay Nomads. He joined
Airbus UK Broughton in August 2005 as Player-Manager.
In July 2008 he moved to
Rhyl 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'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
Flintshire County Council, where one of key roles is to develop women's football in the region.
He was appointed head coach at
Airbus UK in 2011
but left the club in January 2012 when
Andy Preece's management team was appointed.
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 ...
runner-up:
1992–93
*
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 ...
:
1994–95; runner-up:
1990–91
*
FAW Premier Cup:
1997–98,
1999–2000,
2000–01
Rhyl
*
Welsh Premier League:
2008–09
Individual
*
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 ...
:
1992–93 Third Division
*
Welsh Premier League Player of the Season:
2008–09
* Welsh Premier League Team of the Year:
2008–09.
Manager
Wrexham Women
*Genaro Adran North U19: 2021–22
References
External links
Welsh Premier League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Owen, Gareth
Living people
1971 births
English men's footballers
Welsh men's footballers
Wales men's under-21 international footballers
Men's association football midfielders
Wrexham A.F.C. players
Doncaster Rovers F.C. players
Rhyl F.C. players
English Football League players
Connah's Quay Nomads F.C. players
Airbus UK Broughton F.C. players
Airbus UK Broughton F.C. managers
Northwich Victoria F.C. players
Cymru Premier players
Cymru Premier managers
Rhyl F.C. managers
English football managers
Footballers from Chester