Gareth Owen (born 21 October 1971) is a Welsh former footballer, who played as a midfielder 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, and was rewarded by a testimonial match against Manchester United in 2000 which drew a crowd of 13,000 to the Racecourse Ground.[1] 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.[2]
In July 2008 he moved to Rhyl on a one-year deal to play under his former assistant manager at Airbus, Allan Bickerstaff.[3] In May 2009 he was named as the Welsh Premier League's Player of the Season.[4] He remained at the club for three years before returning to Airbus in June 2011 as head coach.[5]
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.[6]
He was appointed head coach at Airbus UK in 2011[5] but left the club in January 2012 when Andy Preece's management team was appointed.[7]
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.[5] He was called up to the full international team in 1998 but did not play.[8]
