Christian Rowe: Slough Town FC player dies in crash

One of Slough Town FC's "most promising young players" has died in a road traffic accident, the club has said.

The National League South side said it had been left "devastated and heartbroken" by the death of 19-year-old Christian Rowe, in a statement on its website on Friday.

It has not given further details about the crash.

Burnley FC, where Rowe recently trialled, sent "condolences" to his family.

His former club Havant and Waterlooville FC said it was "shocked and saddened".

Rowe, who was from Ascot, Berkshire, played for the club last season before joining Slough's Academy23, which paves the way for players from youth to senior football.

After recovering from a hamstring injury he had been on loan to Binfield for five weeks, but plans were under way to bring him back to Slough's first team.

Slough Town FC said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with Christian's parents, family, friends and teammates."

On twitter, joint first-team manager Neil Baker described him as a "lovely lad who had a real chance of an excellent career".

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "He had a good career ahead of him.

"It's heart-breaking for the family, for everyone at the club - predominantly the 23s who all know him better - but he's trained with us numerous times and it's a really, really sad scenario."

He added: "He would have definitely have been playing Conference South Football this season, and for a 19-year-old centre-half that's a big deal and that could have led to greater things for him.

"He was very ambitious, he had a lot of belief in his ability and rightly so. He was a very good, composed player and it's an absolute loss to everyone."

Some of Rowe's teammates have also paid tribute to him, including Lewis Pegg and Scott Davies.

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