Guvanchmukhammed Saparmukhammedovich Ovekov (; born February 2, 1981) is a former professional Turkmen

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. Öwekow played as a striker for

Arsenal Kyiv Football Club Arsenal Kyiv () is a Ukrainian football club based in Kyiv. In 2019, the club's professional team was dissolved, but its junior teams continue to compete in city competitions. The club claims to be a successor of Kyiv Arsenal fac ...

, CSKA Kyiv, Borysfen Boryspil,

Vorskla Poltava FC Vorskla Poltava ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Poltava. The team set to compete in Ukrainian First League, the second tier of Football in Ukraine, Ukrainian football after relegation from Ukrainian Premier League in ...

Navbahor Namangan PFC. Navbahor Namangan () is an Uzbek professional association football, football club based in Namangan. The club's name literal translation, means ''New Spring''. They play in the Uzbekistan Super League. Name RAHIMOV origins from Persian lang ...

Zorya Luhansk FC Zorya Luhansk ( ) is a Ukrainian football team. Zorya Luhansk was based in the city of Luhansk, Ukraine. However, due to the Russo-Ukrainian War, the team currently plays its games at Slavutych-Arena in Zaporizhzhia. The modern club as a ...

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

Zhetysu Jetisu ( ) or Semirechye ( rus, Семиречье, p=sʲɪmʲɪˈrʲetɕje) or Heptopotamia is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the southeastern part of modern Kazakhstan. Name Jetisu is also transcribed Jeti-Suu (, ), Zh ...

, Khorazm, Nebitçi, Ahal,

Nisa NISA may refer to: * National Independent Soccer Association, a third tier United States soccer league * National Intelligence and Security Agency of Somalia * Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, part of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade a ...

and the Turkmenistan national team. In November 2024, Öwekow was elected President of the

Football Federation of Turkmenistan The Football Federation of Turkmenistan (; TFF) is the governing body of football and futsal in Turkmenistan. It is responsible for the national team, as well as club competitions History The Federation was founded in 1992 and in 1994 was ad ...

Playing career

Club

Guvenchmukhamed Ovekov was born in Ashgabat. He began his career with Turkmen club SMM+. He played for the Ashgabat club

. During the

2000 Commonwealth of Independent States Cup The 2000 Commonwealth of Independent States Cup was the eighth edition of the competition between the champions of former republics of Soviet Union. It was won by Spartak Moscow for the fifth time. For the second time in a row the competition was ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, his performance caught the attention of several Ukrainian clubs. He caught the attention of the coaching staff of CSKA Kyiv, which led him to move to Ukraine. He went on to compete in the Ukrainian Championship, representing

, Borysfen,

Vorskla The Vorskla (; ) is a river that runs from Belgorod Oblast in Russia southwards into northeastern Ukraine, where it joins the Dnieper. Geography The river's source is on the western slopes of the Central Russian Upland north of Belgorod. Wi ...

Zorya Zorya (Literal translation, lit. "Dawn"; also many variants: Zarya, Zaria, Zorza, Zirnytsia, Zaranitsa, Zoryushka, etc.) is a figure in Slavic folklore, a feminine personification of dawn, possibly goddess. Depending on tradition, she may appear ...

, and

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

. Additionally, he played for the Uzbek clubs Navbahor and

Khorezm Khwarazm (; ; , ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the east by the Kyzylkum Desert, on the south by t ...

. Öwekow has experience competing in

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

. In 2007, he became the Turkmenistan Futsal Championship winner with the team Asudalyk. Recognized as the best player and top scorer of the tournament, Öwekow scored 11 goals throughout the competition. In the final match, Asudalyk overcame a two-goal deficit to defeat IPS Motors 5-4, securing the club's first national championship title. In 2008, he joined the

Taldykorgan Taldykorgan (, , ; ), formerly spelled Taldy-Kurgan until 1993, is the capital (called an administrative center) of Jetisu Region, Kazakhstan. According to the 2010 Kazakh Census, the population is 143,407. The town was founded in the 19th centu ...

-based club

, where he contributed to the team's sixth-place finish in the

Kazakhstan Premier League The Kazakhstan Professional Football League (, ''Qazaqstan Premier Ligasy''), commonly referred to as the Kazakh Premier League or simply the Premier League, is a professional association football league in Kazakhstan and the highest level of the ...

, appearing in 18 matches and scoring 4 goals. Öwekow played for a Kazakh club as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. At the start of 2009, he returned to Navbahor, where he had previously played in the 2005–2006 season. In 2011, Ovekov returned to

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

, signing with

FC Balkan FC Balkan Botevgrad () is a Bulgarian football club based in the city of Botevgrad. The stadium of the club is " Hristo Botev" in Botevgrad with capacity of 8,000 people. History The club was established in 1929 with the name "Stamen Panchev". ...

from

Balkanabat Balkanabat (), formerly Nebit-Dag and Neftedag, is the administrative centre of Balkan Province, the largest province in Turkmenistan. It lies at the foot of the Balkan Daglary mountain range. Balkanabat is about 450 km west of Ashgabat a ...

. He helped the team win the Turkmenistan Super Cup, scoring a crucial goal in the 84th minute. That season, he also celebrated a championship victory with the club. In the

2011 AFC President's Cup The 2011 AFC President's Cup was the seventh edition of the AFC President's Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "emerging countries" in Asia. Teams from 12 member associations competed. ...

, FC Balkan advanced to the final stage but was narrowly defeated by Taiwan Power Company F.C. (3:4). In 2013, he played for

FC Altyn Asyr Football Club Altyn Asyr (), also known as Altyn Asyr Ashgabat or simply Altyn Asyr, which translates to ''Golden Century'', is a Turkmenistan, Turkmen professional association football, football club based in Ashgabat. Founded in 2008, the club c ...

. His final club was

FC Ahal Ahal Änew Football Club (), or simply Ahal FK, is a Turkmen professional football club based in the Änew, Ahal Province. Founded in 1989, the club played its first-ever top flight season in 1992. The club plays its home matches at the 20,000 ...

, and upon retiring as a player, he joined the coaching staff.

International career

Guwançmuhammet Öwekow has played 22 games for the

Turkmenistan national football team The Turkmenistan national football team () represents Turkmenistan in men's international football. It is controlled by the Football Federation of Turkmenistan, the governing body for football in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan's home ground is the ...

between 2003 and 2010, scoring 9 goals. He made his debut for the national team on October 30, 2003, in a 1–1 match against the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

, coming on as a substitute for Didargylyç Urazow in the 53rd minute. He represented Turkmenistan in the

2004 AFC Asian Cup The 2004 AFC Asian Cup was the 13th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held from 17 July to 7 August 2004 in China. ...

held in

China PR China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the e ...

, where he played in three matches: against Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Uzbekistan. He also participated in the 2006 and 2010 World Cup qualifiers, scoring 4 goals across these campaigns. Guwançmuhammet Öwekow participated in the largest ever win for Turkmenistan, a match at home against Afghan national football team in which Öwekow scored two of Turkmenistan's eleven goals. Five years later, Ovekov made another record against the same opponent, as he scored four goals during the 5–0 win over the Afghans during a

2008 AFC Challenge Cup The 2008 AFC Challenge Cup football tournament was organised by AFC and was hosted by India. The tournament was played from 30 July – 13 August 2008. India won the final against Tajikistan. India was also the winner of the fair play award an ...

group stage match.

Coaching career

He has been coach of

from 2014, led the club to the silver in

2014 Ýokary Liga 2014 Ýokary Liga season was the 22nd edition of the top tier professional Yokary Liga football annual competition in Turkmenistan administered by the Football Federation of Turkmenistan The Football Federation of Turkmenistan (; TFF) is th ...

. He also shortly coached FK Arkadag in 2023.

Football administration

Öwekow was elected president of

on 4 November 2024. In February 2025, Öwekow was re-elected as chairman for another four-year term.

Club career statistics

Last update: 9 March 2008

International career statistics

Goals for Senior National Team

Achievements

Nisa * Turkmenistan Champion: 2001 Balkan * Turkmenistan Champion: 2011 * Turkmenistan Super Cup Winner: 2011 Zorya *Winner of the Ukrainian First League (1): 2005–06 Borysfen *Runner-up of the Ukrainian First League (1): 2002–03

Managerial Honors

Ahal *Turkmenistan Championship Runners-up: 2014 *Turkmenistan Cup Winner: 2014 * Turkmenistan Super Cup Winner: 2014 * Turkmenistan Super Cup Runner-up: 2015

References

External links

* * *
FIFA World Cup Qualifying article
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Owekow, Guwancmuhammet 1981 births Living people Turkmenistan men's footballers 21st-century Turkmenistan sportsmen Turkmenistan expatriate men's footballers 2004 AFC Asian Cup players Expatriate men's footballers in Kazakhstan FC Arsenal Kyiv players FC Arsenal-2 Kyiv players FC CSKA Kyiv players FC Vorskla Poltava players FC Zorya Luhansk players Footballers from Ashgabat FC Kharkiv players PFC Navbahor Namangan players Ahal FK players FC Altyn Asyr players FC Zhetysu players Turkmenistan expatriate sportspeople in Uzbekistan Expatriate men's footballers in Uzbekistan Turkmenistan expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan Turkmenistan expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Expatriate men's footballers in Ukraine Ukrainian Premier League players Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Footballers at the 2002 Asian Games Asian Games footballers for Turkmenistan Turkmenistan men's international footballers Nisa Aşgabat players FC Khorazm players Uzbekistan Super League players