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Reims fined £22k after PSG draw because of English manager Will Still who is just 30
Will Still is making a name for himself as one of Europe's brightest coaching prospects.
Ligue 1 outfit Reims are fined a whopping £22,000 every time young English-Belgian coach Will Still manages them. Still, born to British parents in Belgium, has overseen a remarkable run with the French club since being appointed as their head coach in October.
Only 30, Still is the youngest manager in European top-flight football. He was appointed as Reims boss until the end of the season in October having spent time as the club’s assistant manager.
But because the boyhood West Ham is still studying for his UEFA Pro Licence, he is technically not allowed to be coaching in the top-tier of France. Reims are therefore being fined £22k every time he leads them out into a competitive fixture as bosses must have the highest-recognised coaching certificate.
The Red and Whites have lost just once in their last 17 matches and are therefore happy to keep paying the price to keep their boss. Still has joked that a deal has been agreed with the club that means he does not need to pay the fine.
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“Well, it’s been, sort of, negotiated. The club said, ‘We’re ready to invest in your career. just as long as you keep winning!’,” the former Preston academy coach told the Daily Mail.
Spearheaded by Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun, Reims have jumped up to 11th in Ligue 1 under Still. They have lost just four matches this season and Balogun’s added-time equaliser against Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday earned a second draw against the mega-rich French champions.
Still admits it has not yet sunk in that he is coaching a team against the likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar. He added: “You reflect on it and think, ‘Why the hell am I doing this? How am I in the position to be coaching against these guys?’”
It was late nights on the computer simulation game Football Manager that prompted Still to go into coaching. He moved from Belgium to Preston aged 17 to focus on his career path, studying at Myerscough College while coaching Preston’s U14 team.
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Reims manager Will Still got into coaching because of his love of Football Manager. He has only just turned 30.
— Out of Context Football Manager (@nocontextfm1) January 30, 2023
Yesterday, Reims scored a 96th minute equaliser against PSG to go 12 games unbeaten in Ligue 1.
He is literally living all of our dreams... ������❤️ pic.twitter.com/xpupTYsM2V
“I was just like a normal kid playing Football Manager. I spent nights where you get to 10 o’clock in the evening, thinking, ‘Ok one more game.’
“And then you end up at 4 o’clock in the morning: ‘Oh, I’m still at it.’ But what I realise now, the crazy thing is it’s actually so realistic.”
Over a decade on, his career has already taken him to Lierse, Beerschot - where he was manager - Standard Liege and Reims. Should Still’s Ligue 1 journey continue to be successful, it would be remiss to assume that he will not be in the Premier League soon.