the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign will be in full swing, it emerged yesterday.

In a brief meeting with Bermuda Football Association president Neville Tyrrell, Best was told that his three-year contract as technical director would not be renewed when it expires in March next year.

"The way I was told was completely unprofessional,'' said Best yesterday.

Bermuda are due to play their first-round World Cup qualifier against the British Virgin Islands next Spring. And the under-23 national team, also overseen by Best, must play Olympic qualifiers against Panama and Cuba in March.

Best's fate was sealed by the BFA's coaching committee, which recommended he should go.

Best, the best soccer player ever produced by the Island, made his name as a striker with West Ham, Feyenoord and Ajax, in the 1960s and early 1970s.

See Sport Page 29