2015 AFCON kick-off today
Hosts Equatorial Guinea and Congo Brazzaville get the tournament underway in a Group A clash at Estadio de Bata.
As ever, it will attract the attention of the entire world, with millions tuning in to see which of the 16 nations emerges victorious.
Teams involved will be hoping to emulate Nigeria, who beat Burkina Faso in the final of the last tournament back in 2013.
Bafana Bafana meanwhile face a tough opening clash of the tournament on Monday.
Shakes Mashaba's men will look to upset the number-one ranked nation on the continent Algeria.
Ghana and Senegal are the other two teams in Group C, which is considered one of the toughest in the tournament.
South Africa start the tournament without Eric Mathoho, Patrick Phungwayo and Reneilwe Letsholonyane.
Ayanda Gcaba replaced Phungwayo after failing to recover from a knee injury.
While Mathoho and Letsholonyane both received suspensions as a result of the yellow cards they received in the final 2-2 qualifying game against Nigeria and therefore miss the opening.
The boys wrapped their preparations in style, defeating Mali 3-0 in their final friendly match in Gabon following their 1-all draw against Cameroon.
The result also ensured that Mashaba is unbeaten in his 10 matches since being appointed as head coach.
Kickoff at Estadio de Bata is at 18h00 on Saturday. Burkina Faso face off against Gabon at the same venue at 21h00 South African time.
Meanwhile, opposition parties in host nation called on residents to boycott matches of the AFCON in protest against the human rights situation in the country.
AFCON fixtures are as follows:
17 Jan, Saturday
Group A
Equatorial Guinea v Congo at Estadio de Bata 18h00
Burkina Faso v Gabon at Estadio de Bata 21h00
18 Jan, Sunday
Group B
Zambia v Congo DR at Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín 18h00
Tunisia v Cape Verde Islands at Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyínv 21h00
19 Jan, Monday
Group C
Ghana v Senegal at Estadio de Mongomo 18h00
Algeria v South Africa at Estadio de Mongomo 21h00
20 Jan, Tuesday
Group D
Cote d'Ivoire v Guinea at Nuevo Estadio de Malabo 18h00
Mali v Cameroon at Nuevo Estadio de Malabo 21h00
21 Jan, Wednesday
Group A
Equatorial Guinea v Burkina Faso at Estadio de Bata 18h00
Gabon v Congo at Estadio de Bata 21h00
22 Jan, Thursday
Group B
Zambia v Tunisia at Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín 18h00
Cape Verde Islands v Congo DR at Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín 21h00
23 Jan, Friday
Group C
Ghana v Algeria at Estadio de Mongomo 18h00
South Africa v Senegal at Estadio de Mongomo 21h00
24 Jan, Saturday
Group D
Cote d'Ivoire v Mali at Nuevo Estadio de Malabo 18h00
Cameroon v Guinea at Nuevo Estadio de Malabo 21h00
25 Jan, Sunday
Group A
Gabon v Equatorial Guinea at Estadio de Bata 20h00
Congo v Burkina Faso at Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín 20h00
26 Jan, Monday
Group B
Cape Verde Islands v Zambia at Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín 20h00
Congo DR v Tunisia at Estadio de Bata 20h00
27 Jan, Tuesday
Group C
South Africa v Ghana at Estadio de Mongomo 20h00
Senegal v Algeria at Nuevo Estadio de Malabo 20h00
28 Jan, Wednesday
Group D
Cameroon v Cote d'Ivoire at Nuevo Estadio de Malabo 20h00
Guinea v Mali at Estadio de Mongomo 20h00
(File photo: Gallo Images)