Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Former England and Liverpool winger John Barnes is poised to become the new coach of the Rwanda national soccer team, Agence France-Presse reported today.

An agreement to appoint Barnes, who was fired earlier this month by English third-tier team Tranmere Rovers, may “be finalized soon,” Rwanda’s sports and culture minister Joseph Habineza was quoted as saying by the French news agency.

Barnes, 45, has also coached Celtic and Jamaica, the country of his birth. If appointed he’d succeed Croatian Branko Tukac. The former English player of the year scored 11 goals in 79 games for the national team.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tariq Panja in London at tpanja@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 29, 2009 11:58 EDT