Joseph Okumu’s French club, Stade Reims, is angling for a busy pre-season day with two matches scheduled as part of its arrangements.

Reims, who were relegated following a crushing playoff defeat to Metz, are now angling for life in Ligue 2.

The club has been ramping up preparations at the Raymond Kopa training base, with the Kenyan international among those who recently linked up for the preseason.

Games

As part of its preparation, the club claimed a morale-boosting 1-0 win over Boulogne SC on Wednesday, July 16, 2025.

According to the match schedule, the six-time champions are expected to play two additional friendly matches this Sunday, July 20, and April.

The team will open the day’s clash against OH Leuven, the Belgium Pro League side, before hosting FC 93 Bobigny for the final clash of the day.

 The clashes will see Okumu seeking to extend his fine start to pre-season following his dream start with the Reds.

The Kenyan marked a dream return to action, scoring the match winner in Wednesday’s friendly as Reims recorded a second successive win of its preseason ties.

Okumu scored from close range as the first half wore on to hand Reims the win over the new Ligue 2 entrants.

The clash pitted Boulogne, fresh from their promotion to the French second tier, against Reims, who got relegated to the division at the end of the season.

The Kenyan featured for the first half as coach Karel Geraerts made wholesale changes for the second half. He named an entirely new team for a thorough assessment of his charges. 

Founded in 1931, Reims is a storied club in French football history, boasting six Ligue 1 titles, the last of which came in 1962. While they managed an 11th-place finish in the 2023/24 season, this year marked a steep decline. The loss to Metz confirmed their first relegation since their promotion back to the top tier in 2018.

The club finished in 16th position to leave its fate of defending their top league status down to the promotion play-off against the third-best team from Ligue 2.