Owen Pelham

An increasingly familiar face around the Snows Stadium complex this season, 17-year-old Owen Pelham is a dynamic central midfielder who has caught the eye with impressive performances in the FA Youth Cup, as well as stepping up to the men’s game to captain Totton & Eling in the Wessex League Division One.

Born in Portsmouth, Owen grew up supporting Chelsea and became part of the AFC Portchester set-up as a young teenager. He gained his first taste of men’s football playing for Baffins Milton Rovers, before enrolling as a First Year Scholar in the AFC Totton Academy last June.

He was an integral part of the team that won the Tactics League T1 South Championship title in its first year and he was rewarded by AFC Totton Manager Jimmy Ball by being included in the First Team squad that kicked-off its summer 2022 pre-season campaign at Tytherington Rocks in South Gloucestershire. He also featured prominently in Totton & Eling’s pre-season programme and by the start of the competitive campaign, he was captaining The Millers as a dual registered player.

He made his mark on the FA Youth Cup with an inspirational performance against Folland Sports in the Preliminary Round, scoring a goal reminiscent of Bryan Robson to drive his team’s comeback from a 0-1 deficit to eventually claim a stoppage-time winner.

Jimmy Ball handed Owen his senior competitive AFC Totton debut the following week, as a second-half substitute in the Hampshire Senior Cup at AFC Portchester. He was also involved in the Southampton Senior Cup tie at Ringwood Town, where he came agonisingly close to registering his first senior goal with a shot that deflected off a defender’s foot and against the underside of the crossbar.

The talented midfielder, who continues his studies this term with the rebranded AFC Totton Academy as a Second Year Scholar, has already begun to attract attention from elsewhere, being named in the PRO:DIRECT National Select XI for a match at Norwich City in early-October in which he played the full 90 minutes and earned rave reviews, despite being on the losing side. And with a level head and a determined streak running through his core, he is destined for a successful future in the game.

Joined Lymington Town on loan towards the end of the 2022/23 season, following ex-Totton midfielder Lewis Waterfield's move from Lymington to Dorchester Town. Then, Owen began the 2023/24 season on loan at Hamworthy United, until they made the decision to withdraw from the Southern League due to financial difficulties.

Owen scored his first goals for the AFC Totton senior side with a brace against East Cowes Victoria Athletic in the Third Round of the Servio Hampshire Senior Cup in November 2023.

Owen Pelham is sponsored by Snows Car Centre.