Former head of football operations at Reading FC, Mark Bowen, has landed a new job as director of football at Forest Green Rovers.
Bowen’s second spell with Reading came to an end in September 2024 as he was dismissed for ‘bringing the club into disrepute’ after being found guilty of breaching the FA’s betting rules.
It was reported at the time that Bowen was in a legal dispute with the club over the termination of his contact.
The Welshman first joined Reading as a technical consultant back in 2019, and was then promoted to technical director, before he was appointed as first-team manager, taking over from Jose Gomes.
After rejecting the chance to move back into a directors role after the appointment of manager Veljko Paunovic, Bowen left the club only to return again as head of football operations in 2022.
However, he was suspended by the club in July 2024 after being found guilty of placing 95 bets on football matches from April 2022- January 2024, and was eventually dismissed in September.
Bowen now has a new role with Forest Green Rovers, who play in the National League.
Forest Green were in League One as recently as the 2022/23, but suffered back-to-back relegations which took them out of the Football League.
They have now appointed Bowen as director of football as they look to return to the Football League.
Their statement reads: “We are pleased to announce that Mark Bowen is FGR’s new Director of Football. Mark brings a wealth of experience with over 40 years as Player, Coach, Manager and Sport Director at the highest levels.
“Mark most recently spent around four years at Reading FC where he was Sport Director and Head of Football Operations.
“During that time Mark built a young, dynamic squad, through difficult circumstances, that narrowly missed out on promotion from League One last season.
Let’s give Mark a warm FGR welcome.”
