Anyone who plays Football Manager knows the feeling: «just one more match» and, before you know it, it is three in the morning. Now imagine you are a pro in another sport, and your wife says in public that FM is ruining your career. That is what happened to Kim Huybrechts, Belgium’s best darts player.
Kim Huybrechts walking on at the 2019 European Darts Matchplay. Photo: Sven Mandel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A 3-0 without a single leg
On 23 December 2024, Huybrechts walked out at Alexandra Palace in London for the second round of the World Darts Championship. It was his 13th time there. However, Dutchman Richard Veenstra beat him 3-0, and the Belgian did not win a single leg. Afterwards, he called it perhaps the biggest disappointment of his career.
The World Darts Championship stage at Alexandra Palace. Photo: TWsk, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Was Football Manager to blame?
At least, that is what his wife says. Dana Verhaegen-Huybrechts, also a professional darts player, did not hold back when she spoke to Belgian paper Nieuwsblad. For example, she called him a spoiled brat and said he is addicted to Football Manager while she does everything around the house.
She then went even further. According to her, Kim has plenty of talent but no character, and calling him lazy is an understatement. Still, she slipped in some praise: when he is on form, she believes he can beat anyone.
Who is Kim Huybrechts
But this is not just any player. Huybrechts has played in the Premier League of Darts, has five PDC Pro Tour titles and reached the 2013 World Cup of Darts final. Also, between 2013 and 2015 he won the Dutch Darts Masters and the European Darts Grand Prix. So, at his best, he reached 12th in the world rankings.
At the World Championship, his best run was a quarter-final, where he lost to Andy Hamilton. In recent years, however, he dropped fast: he lost in the first round in consecutive years and now sits around 46th in the rankings. Away from darts, he is a die-hard Royal Antwerp fan.
The comeback
Since then, Huybrechts has changed things. In May 2026, he explained that he had a new management team, that he now works with former player Erik Clarys, and that he added a dietitian and regular gym sessions. The results followed: in 2026 he won 100 of his 151 matches. So he is still the top-ranked Belgian, at 40.
However, we do not know if Football Manager left his routine too. Nobody asked, and he did not say.
He is not the only one
Plenty of athletes are hooked on FM. For example, France’s Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembélé have talked about the game many times. The difference is that, in their case, nobody at home went to the papers to complain.
Our take
If you have never heard «put that game down», cast the first stone. Huybrechts’ story is funny because it is over the top, but it is also a warning many of us know well. After all, FM is one of the games that steals the most hours. So, with FM27 arriving on 10 November, here is our advice: play as much as you like, but do not leave all the dishes to the rest of the family.
Sources
- SPORTbible, 3 November 2026
- Dana Verhaegen-Huybrechts speaking to Nieuwsblad (December 2024)
- Kim Huybrechts on the Darts Draait Door podcast (May 2026)
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