How football club owner’s surprise job offer now makes sense

Mansfield boss to marry club's CEO two weeks after hiring her

(GETTY IMAGES)

Were it not set against the backdrop of non-league Mansfield Town Football Club, the romantic tale of a young lady and a wealthy businessman might not be all that remarkable.

Two weeks after John Radford, the middle-aged millionaire chairman of the Nottinghamshire club, made 29-year-old Carolyn Still football’s youngest chief executive, the pair, who had previously denied any romantic involvement, are to be wed.

At the time of her appointment, the Durham University politics graduate admitted she had known Mr Radford for a couple of years.

While Ms Still was at university, Mr Radford, 16 years her senior, was growing his retail property maintenance business, One Call, down the A1M in Doncaster. The success of the business allowed him to buy Mansfield Town for just £1.

After Durham, Ms Still moved to London, working in executive assistant roles at fashion houses Gucci and Bulgari. She moved to Leeds in 2009, to study for a post-graduate law course.

“It’s a great privilege. I intend to add vibrancy and fresh ideas to our approach off the field,” Ms Still said on taking up the post at Mansfield FC, marrying the chairman evidently being one of them.

Ms Still and Mr Radford are reported to have confirmed their engagement to friends and family at the weekend. Both were unavailable for comment yesterday.

“There’s an away game at Wrexham tonight, so they’ve gone to that,” said club a spokesperson. It looked like being a passionate encounter. Ahead of the game, Wrexham were top of the Blue Square Premier while the Stags were just four points behind.