As 57 delegates of the Sierra Leone Football Association assemble on Saturday at the Gateway Hotel at the Tulun Road in Lungi Town, Sierra Leone, the stage is set for a crucial election.

This congress will decide who the next president of the association will be, a position vital for the course of football in the nation.

The road to this point has been fraught with difficulties. Originally slow and erratic, the election process followed the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) awarding temporary clearance to female candidate Ms. Aminata Bangura on July 31.

A request for court injunction was dismissed after the incumbent Thomas daddy Brima raised several concerns mostly as a result of disagreements on electoral processes that overshadowed the entire process.

Two more candidates—Babadi Kamara and Alhaji Umaru Bah—both vying for the coveted post alongside the only female candidate Ms. Bangura on the ballot. They will battle in the forthcoming elective conference planned for Port Loko on August 2.

After failing the Football Association’s integrity checks, Thomas Daddy Brima, the current incumbent, drops out of the race. He was without recourse because he could not obtain a court order to postpone the meeting.

With the election drawing close, disagreement hangs high and different groups claim political machination, delegates list manipulations and intimidation techniques.

Although CAS has not yet fixed the date of its final decision, it is expected that the ruling could take weeks as the delegates get ready to vote.