Noguiera (l) will not have his contract renewed

Nogueira's contract ran out in July and has been been told by the Sierra Leone Football Association that it will not be renewed.

The decision came after the Leone Stars failed to qualify for the 2004 Nations Cup finals in Tunisia.

Nogueira said he was working under difficult circumstances and blamed the FA for the team's failure to qualify.

A senior official at the sports ministry told the BBC Sport website that the country would find it hard to recruit another foreign coach, as the local mobile phone company, Millicom, which had sponsored Nogueira's wage bill, were not willing to foot the bill any longer.

"We will name a local coach in the next few days," said FA secretary general Alimu Bah.

"That person will be responsible for preparing Leone Stars for our 2006 Nations Cup/World Cup qualifying match against Congo in October."