The time Seychelles accidentally appointed a 'Holidaymaker' as national team manager

We’ve all got a funny story from our adventures on holiday. When the sun is shining and everyone's having a jolly time, anything can happen, from missing the plane home to spending a night in the local police station. But when Andy Amers-Morrison took a trip to the tropical island of Seychelles in 2010, he came back with an entirely different anecdote.

Amers-Morrison had earned some recognition for his coaching abilities in the mid 2000s. Having established a community samba soccer academy in his native London, he won an award for his efforts. All well and good, but not exactly the usual background of a national team coach.

But when a local journalist mistakenly reported that former Manchester City captain Andy Morrison was on the island, the local FA pounced, immediately offering Amers-Morrison the national team manager’s job, believing they had pulled off something of a coup in attracting an ex-Premier League player to coach their side.

Things began to unravel soon after Amers-Morrison had signed the contract. The real Andy Morrison, then working as a coach for English non-league club Northwich Victoria, expressed his bafflement at the whole situation, first becoming aware of the situation when a journalist phoned to ask him his thoughts on getting the job. Morrison protested that he had never even been to Seychelles.

The Seychelles FA admitted they were disappointed but decided to give their new employee a trial run at the job, with his performance subject to strict monitoring. Sadly, Amers-Morrison didn’t last long in the island hot seat. Two weeks later, the FA met and decided to cancel his contract, replacing the unfortunate holidaymaker with a more experienced coach.

It was a tough journey for Amers-Morrison, who had been hired and fired in quick succession through no fault of his own. But it must have made an interesting story to tell friends and family when showing off holiday snaps, and the kids at his academy can be safe in their knowledge that their coach, for a little while at least, rose to the heady heights of national team manager.