Will Still – The Reims manager without a license who has gone 16 Ligue 1 game unbeaten

Reims manager Will Still has been able to guide the team to 16 league games without defeat in a remarkable run of form. His only loss during that time came a month ago, in a 3-1 Coupe de France defeat to Toulouse. 

Under Will Still, Folarin Balogun has flourished as well, emerging as one of the top scorers in the competition alongside Wissam Ben Yedder and Kylian Mbappe. However, there are a few conundrums that the Belgium-born Englishman brought to the club when he stepped up to the first team. 

Who is Reims manager Will Still? 

He studied Applied Football coaching at Myerscough College, in Lancashire before getting his first job as a video analyst at the Belgian side Sint-Truiden in 2014. He eventually moved on to Standard Liege followed by an assistant management spell at Lierse in 2017. 

🔝🔴 Will Still's Reims side now have the longest active unbeaten run in Europe's top 5 leagues: 18 games, 9 draws, 9 wins.

Note: Will is 30-years-old. Youngest manager in top pro divisions and started his journey on Football Manager. Incredible story. pic.twitter.com/AOP3ISJPcx

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) March 5, 2023

- Advertisement -

Lierse were declared bankrupt later on, and he joined Beerschot. After initially becoming their assistant manager, he stepped up to their first team and guided them to the opening stages of the Europa League. 

Will Still eventually became assistant manager to Oscar Garcia at Reims. But his spell only lasted a few months as he faced problems studying for his coaching licence. He spent eight months with Liege before starting his second spell with Reims. When Garcia left in October, still was asked to take charge of the first team. 

But, Reims have to pay £22,000 every time he manages a game since he doesn’t have a Uefa Pro Licence yet. Still is continuing his study at the National Football Centre near Brussels, and is expected to receive his qualification down the line.