JUBA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- German-born Algerian Ahcene Ait-Abdelmelek has resigned as the head coach of South Sudan's national football team just seven months after his appointment.
In his resignation letter on Sept. 25, Abdelmelek said he quit because of "many issues" with South Sudan's football governing body.
Abdelmelek, who took charge of the Bright Stars in February, will be replaced by his deputy Ramsey Sebit on interim basis until a replacement is found, the South Sudan Football Association (SSFA) said on Thursday.
The Algerian tactician only coached South Sudan in one international match, a 3-0 thrashing by Mali in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier match early this month.
The Bright Stars currently sit bottom in Group C of African Cup of Nations qualifying with zero points after two games, and Abdelmelek's resignation puts the country's chances of qualifying for the 2019 AFCON in Cameroon in jeopardy.
SSFA spokesperson Alul Daniel said Abdelmelek had differences with the SSFA board despite several efforts to peacefully resolve the matter. He however declined to dwell more on the purported dispute.
"We realized that he (Abdelmelek) is not the person South Sudan needs now. We need someone to understand our weather, understand our situation and understand our players," Alul told reporters on Thursday.
"We are not going to bring new coach now. We don't want to hurry like before. We want to make sure that the one we are going to select is qualified and is going to help the South Sudan national team," Alul added.
Abdelmalek becomes the fourth foreign coach to quit the world's youngest nation's football team after South Korea's Lee Sung-Jea, Serbian Zoran Dordevic and Uganda's Leo Adraa.
He previously coached the Burundi national team, Mali's Djoliba AC as well as clubs in Europe.
