Ligue One side Reims get fined £22,000 every time their 30-year-old manager takes charge of a game
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Ligue One side Reims are hit with a fine every game their 30-year-old English manager Will Still takes charge of.
Reims achieved a huge result away from home on Sunday against reigning champions and current league leaders Paris Saint-Germain.
Neymar put Christophe Galtier's side ahead shortly after half-time but the hosts had Marco Verratti sent off moments later.
And incredibly, in the 96th minute, Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun rounded Gianluigi Donnarumma and slotted in a dramatic last-gasp leveller.
Still went absolutely mental at the touchline after seeing his team hold Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar to a draw.
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It was a huge achievement for Europe's youngest manager, who started off playing Football Manager and coaching Preston North End's Under 14 side while studying at Myerscough College.
He's also worked as an assistant manager for three teams in Belgium, where he was born to English parents in 1992.
Still took on the role with Reims and became caretaker manager in October 2022 when Oscar Garcia was sacked, before being given the position on a permanent basis after an impressive five-game unbeaten run.
Reims have gone 12 games without defeat and sit 11th in the table but remarkably, the club are fined £22,000 every game they play.
It's because Still, whose idol is Sir Alex Ferguson, has not yet been granted the mandatory UEFA Pro License needed to manage a team in Ligue One.
30 y/o half-English, half-Belgian Reims manager Will Still coached Preston U14s & was assistant at 3 Belgian teams before becoming Reims No. 2 last yr. Now head coach, club are fined £22k p/match because he doesn’t have his pro licence yet. Unbeaten in 12 games now. Great story. https://t.co/9EkFWkwzOq
— Joe Donnohue (@JoeDonnohue) January 29, 2023
But the club are happy to take the financial punishment because they believe in Still and what he is trying to build.
"Well, it’s been, sort of, negotiated," Still told the Daily Mail.
“The club said: ‘We’re ready to invest in your career. just as long as you keep winning!’”
He racked up the hours guiding boyhood club West Ham to titles aplenty on FM but Still has ambitions of doing it in real-life in the future.
"Long term, I want to manage in the Champions League and in an ideal world, manage in the Premier League," he revealed to SPORTbible.
"I know how far away and how stupid that sounds now, but I think I'm the proof that anything can happen if you really have a go at it.
"Let's see where time and a bit of luck takes me."
Featured Image Credit: BT Sport
Topics: Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain
