The much-vaunted Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) will kick off in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon on January 21 and looks set to enthral soccer fans.
Though Bafana Bafana failed to qualify for the biennial tournament, soccer-mad South Africans will be glued to their small screens following the proceedings.
We have therefore chosen some of the teams and their players who are likely to set the Afcon stage alight.
Ivory Coast
The Elephants are the strong favourites boasting a star-studded team consisting of players from Europe's elite clubs.
Included among them is all-time top scorer and Chelsea forward Didier Drogba. Joining him upfront will be club team-mate Salomon Kalou and Arsenal forward Gervinho.
Manchester City's Yaya Touré will be positioned in the heart of the midfield, while his brother Kolo will be found further back in central defence.
The Elephants however, have only won the tournament once, despite their obvious array of talent, so this might give hope to some of the less favoured nations.
Ghana
Ghana are likely to be one of the other stand-out performers, as they possess such players as Al Ain, forward Asamoah Gyan and Inter Milan midfielder Sulley Muntari.
Ghana have not won the Afcon since 1982, and will be hoping to end the 30-year drought.
Senegal
This side will benefit in their attack from the inclusion of the strong and in-form Demba Ba of Newcastle.
Zambia
The experience of Christopher Kantongo will be key for Chipolopolo.
The 29-year-old striker, who is currently playing for Chinese club Henan Construction, is famous for having scored a quick-fire hat trick against South Africa in 2007.
Between the sticks the team will rely on Free State Stars shot-stopper and captain Kennedy Mweene.
Libya
The surprise qualifiers, making only their third appearance at the tournament, will rely on their outstanding goalkeeper Samir Aboud of Tripoli giants Al Ittihad.
The 39-year-old conceded just one goal in all six Group C games.
Also, look out for classy midfielder Djamal Mahamat of Sporting Braga in Portugal and the promising 24-year-old midfielder Ibrahim al Hassy of Al Nasr.
Sudan
The Desert Hawks will be making their first appearance in the tournament but they are seen as a team that can go beyond the group stages.
They will be pinning their hopes on key players Haitham Tambal and Haitham Mostafa.
Tambal, who plays for Sudanese giants, Al-Merrikh, is the Sudan national football team's all-time top scorer with 26 goals in over 70 appearances.
By far one of the most decorated players in the history of Sudanese football, at 33 Mostafa is entering the twilight of his career - but he still plays an influential role in the fortunes of the Desert Hawks.
The experienced midfielder made his debut in 2000.
Mali
After they were eliminated at the group stage of the tournament at the 2008 and 2010 tournaments, the Eagles will be wanting to do better this time round though they remain minnows in the competition.
The Sahel West Africans will look up to their star players Mahamadou Diarra, Seydou Keita and Mohamed Sissoko.
Mali's stand-out figure is Barcelona's Seydou Keita in midfield. For Mali though, the retirement of Fredi Kanoute will mean the goal-scoring burden will fall on Bordeaux's Cheick Diabate.
Niger
Niger qualified for the 2012 Afcon as Group G winners, ending up level with South Africa and Sierra Leone on nine points, but with a better head-to-head record against the other two. Three wins and three losses were enough to see the Mena progress to Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
Harouna Doula Gabde is a determined coach who has the distinction of being the first man to lead Niger to the Afcon and will be hoping that his trusty skipper Indrissa Laouali will make things happen for the team. Ouwo Moussa Maazou is their formidable forward.
Tunisia
The Carthage Eagles, who will be making their 15th appearance in the tournament, will heavily bank on attacker Issam Jemaa who, with six strikes, was the overall leading goal-scorer in the qualifying campaign.