Sierra Leone's national football coach Sellas Tetteh has resigned from his role, according to the West African country's football association, citing personal reasons. The football association said in a statement on Thursday that Tetteh's resignation letter was "unexpected" and that it regretted the loss of "one of Africa's most iconic football heroes". It added that Ghana-born Tetteh had cited personal reasons for his departure. He won the 2009 Under-20 World Cup for Ghana. But Tetteh had encountered difficulty with Sierra Leone's government when he was appointed the country's national coach. Sierra Leone's sports ministry said in August last year that it did not recognise Tetteh's appointment by the country's national football federation. Tetteh had been appointed after FIFA lifted its suspension of Sierra Leone, which followed the authorities in the country acquitting the national football federation's former president and secretary general of corruption. AFP was unable to reach Tetteh for comment. sb-eml/