Who is Will Still!? William Still, the current manager of French football club Reims, was born in Braine-l’Alleud, Belgium, on 14 October 1992. His parents, Julian Richard Still and Jane (nee Bagley), moved from the UK two years before his birth, as his father worked for Shell. Nicolas and Edward, who are also involved in football, are William’s two younger brothers.
Growing up in the Walloon region, William attended a French language school and played for Flemish football clubs to learn Dutch. He played for the youth teams of Sint-Truiden and Mons. He later played for Mons’ reserve team and amateur club Tempo Overijse in the Belgian Fourth Division.
At the age of 17, William decided to switch his focus to coaching after playing the video game series Football Manager and Championship Manager. He moved to England to study coaching at Myerscough College in Preston, Lancashire. William supports the Premier League club West Ham United.
William began his coaching career as an assistant to the U14 manager at Preston North End. He later became a video analyst at Sint-Truiden in 2014. When the manager, Yannick Ferrera, moved to Standard Liège in 2015, Still followed him and helped the team win the Belgian Cup that season. The club sacked Ferrera and his assistants in September 2016, and Still departed.
In April 2017, Still became the video analyst and assistant manager of Frederik Vanderbiest at Lierse, a second division team. He returned to Standard Liège in June but left two days later due to issues with the contract negotiations. Still then went back to Lierse, where he was appointed caretaker manager in October 2017, at just 24 years old, after Vanderbiest was sacked.
Will Still may have lost his unbeaten run but he will still be a good manager will Will Still I’m sure he still will be.
— don joe (@donjoughnut) March 20, 2023
Will Still Could Be The Next Big Thing In The World Of Footballing Managers!!
He eventually became the full-time manager and led the team to 21 points out of 27, including a seven-game winning streak. However, he could not continue in the role as he did not have the required UEFA A-level coach degree for the Belgian First Division B. Still stayed with Lierse as an assistant coach before joining Beerschot as assistant to Stijn Vreven.
After Beerschot’s promotion to the Belgian First Division A, Still became the head coach when Hernán Losada left for D.C. United in January 2021. At the end of the season, despite finishing 9th, Peter Maes replaced him. Still then joined Ligue 1 team Reims as an assistant coach under Óscar García. After García was sacked in October 2022, he became the head coach. He led the team to an unbeaten start in the league for 17 matches, setting a new Ligue 1 record. The streak finally ended after losing to Marseille on 19 March 2023.
William Still spent his early life in the Walloon region of Belgium, where he attended a French language school. To learn Dutch, he played for Flemish football clubs such as Sint-Truiden and Mons. Later, he played for Mons’ reserve team and amateur club Tempo Overijse in the Belgian Fourth Division.
At the age of 17, he decided to focus on coaching after playing the video game series Football Manager and Championship Manager. He moved to England to study coaching at Myerscough College in Preston, Lancashire.
William’s coaching career began as an assistant to the U14 manager at Preston North End. He later became a video analyst at Sint-Truiden in 2014. After Sint-Truiden’s manager Yannick Ferrera moved to Standard Liège in 2015. Still followed him and helped the team win the Belgian Cup that season.
