The Englishman who went skiing and became a football manager | Cam Melling

Sean Caldwell went on holiday in Kitzbühel and ended up working for the town’s football club in the Austrian leagues

By Cam Melling for The Set Pieces

Kitzbühel hosts World Cup ski races and has been welcoming visitors to its slopes for centuries. Sean Caldwell was like any other tourist when he first visited. Now, his work in transforming the town’s football club means he can be considered a local.

FC Eurotours Kitzbühel currently play in Regionalliga West, the third tier of Austrian football. That’s one level higher than they found themselves when Caldwell arrived at the club three and a half years ago. “I had been visiting Kitzbühel for many years on skiing holidays,” says the English coach. “After speaking with a few people I got in touch with the football club, which I didn’t know much about at the time, and I was offered a role to coach the under-17 team. I felt this was a good opportunity to take myself out of my comfort zone as a coach, while also learning a new language. I started as under-17 coach and within two months I was also asked to take on the under-sevens and under-eights. After doing that for a season, I continued to advise our youth departments while working as first-team assistant manager.”

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