IVORY COAST and Ghana will line up as favourites to end their wait for success in the African Cup of Nations in the shock absence of some of the continent's biggest hitters.
Egypt, Cameroon and Nigeria were all among the teams who failed to navigate the qualification stage of the 28th edition of the competition successfully.
And, amazingly, that leaves Tunisia as the only side in 2012 finals to have won it in the last 20 years after their triumph on home soil in 2004.
Regardless, then, of who the eventual winner is, it is almost certain to be a joyous first experience for a new generation of support.
The Ivorians last won this tournament in 1992 but start as favourites this time with their attack spearheaded by Chelsea pair Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, and Yao Gervinho of Arsenal.
Further Premier League class is provided by Manchester City's Toure brothers, Yaya and Kolo, and Newcastle United's midfield general Cheik Tiote.
But, while Ivory Coast possess plenty of talent and hold the highest FIFA ranking, at number 18, of the 16 competitors, it is second favourites Ghana who have had the most success recently on the international scene.
The Ghanaians reached the last 16 of the 2006 World Cup and then, in 2010, were only denied a place in history as the first African semi finalists by Luis Suarez's infamous handball for Uruguay.
Of course, much of Ghana's success in South Africa could be attributed to the goalscoring talents of Asamoah Gyan.
The 26-year-old, a scorer of three World Cup goals, is currently plying his trade in the United Arab Emirates on loan at Al-Ain after fleeing Sunderland at the start of the season.
Now, he and his team mates will hope to go one better than two years ago in this competition when they lost 1-0 in the Final to a late Egypt goal. Ghana last won the African Cup of Nations in 1982.
Senegal have never lifted the trophy but will have hopes of changing that record after the brilliant form of their talisman Demba Ba.
The Newcastle forward has been prolific, hitting 15 goals in 17 starts to sit behind only Robin van Persie in the Premier League scoring charts.
And now, as the sixth-placed Magpies chase a return to European football, owner Mike Ashley has splashed the cash on Ba's national team strike partner Papiss Demba Cisse, signing him from German club Freiburg for around £7.5m.
When Cisse arrives on Tyneside after the tournament, he will take the legendary number nine shirt as worn by Jackie Milburn, Malcolm MacDonald, Alan Shearer and other great Geordie heroes.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, the absence of another of Ba's team mates - Mohamed Diame - will undoubtedly be felt by bottom side Wigan Athletic.
That leaves just two other England-based players to mention: the Moroccan pair, Adel Taarabt and Marouane Chamakh of Queens Park Rangers and Arsenal respectively.
Morocco have a tough task as they search for a first African Cup of Nations since 1976. They begin their campaign against North African rivals Tunisia before taking on co-hosts Gabon and debutantes Niger in Group C.
The other co-hosts, Equatorial Guinea, are another side making their finals debut. They are in Group A along with Libya, Zambia and the Senegalese.
And a third team taking their bow at this stage of the competition is Botswana. The Zebras have been placed in Group D with Ghana, Mali and Guinea.
That leaves only the teams in Group B to confirm: they are Ivory Coast, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Angola.
In the UK, live television coverage of every match will be provided by British Eurosport (Sky 410/411), while ITV4 (Sky 120) will show four "key" games live - Ivory Coast v Burkina Faso in the group stage, one quarter final, one semi final and the Final on 12 February - as well as nightly highlights.
FULL AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS FIXTURES/RESULTS
GROUP A
| TV | Date | Venue | |
| Eurosport | Sat 21 Jan, 18:30 | EQUATORIAL GUINEA 1-0 LIBYA | Bata |
| Eurosport | Sat 21 Jan, 21:00 | SENEGAL 1-2 ZAMBIA | Bata |
| Eurosport | Wed 25 Jan, 17:15 | LIBYA 2-2 ZAMBIA | Bata |
| Eurosport | Wed 25 Jan, 20:15 | EQUATORIAL GUINEA 2-1 SENEGAL | Bata |
| Eurosport | Sun 29 Jan, 18:00 | EQUATORIAL GUINEA 0-1 ZAMBIA | Malabo |
| Eurosport2 | Sun 29 Jan, 18:00 | LIBYA 2-1 SENEGAL | Bata |
| Group A Table | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| ZAMBIA (Q) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| EQUATORIAL GUINEA (Q) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Libya | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Senegal | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
GROUP B
| TV | Date | Venue | |
| Eurosport | Sun 22 Jan, 16:00 | IVORY COAST 1-0 SUDAN | Malabo |
| Eurosport2 | Sun 22 Jan, 19:00 | BURKINA FASO 1-2 ANGOLA | Malabo |
| Eurosport | Thu 26 Jan, 16:00 | SUDAN 2-2 ANGOLA | Malabo |
| ITV4* | Thu 26 Jan, 19:00 | IVORY COAST 2-0 BURKINA FASO | Malabo |
| Eurosport | Mon 30 Jan, 18:00 | SUDAN 2-1 BURKINA FASO | Bata |
| Eurosport2 | Mon 30 Jan, 18:00 | IVORY COAST 2-0 ANGOLA | Malabo |
| Group B Table | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| IVORY COAST (Q) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| SUDAN (Q) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Angola | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Burkina Faso | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
GROUP C
| TV | Date | Venue | |
| Eurosport | Mon 23 Jan, 16:00 | GABON 2-0 NIGER | Libreville |
| Eurosport | Mon 23 Jan, 19:00 | MOROCCO 1-2 TUNISIA | Libreville |
| Eurosport | Fri 27 Jan, 16:00 | NIGER 1-2 TUNISIA | Libreville |
| Eurosport | Fri 27 Jan, 19:00 | GABON 3-2 MOROCCO | Libreville |
| Eurosport | Tue 31 Jan, 18:00 | GABON 1-0 TUNISIA | Franceville |
| Eurosport2 | Tue 31 Jan, 18:00 | NIGER 0-1 MOROCCO | Libreville |
| Group C Table | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| GABON (Q) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 9 |
| TUNISIA (Q) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| Morocco | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Niger | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
GROUP D
| TV | Date | Venue | |
| Eurosport | Tue 24 Jan, 16:00 | GHANA 1-0 BOTSWANA | Franceville |
| Eurosport | Tue 24 Jan, 19:00 | MALI 1-0 GUINEA | Franceville |
| Eurosport | Sat 28 Jan, 16:00 | BOTSWANA 1-6 GUINEA | Franceville |
| Eurosport | Sat 28 Jan, 19:00 | GHANA 2-0 MALI | Franceville |
| Eurosport | Wed 1 Feb, 18:00 | BOTSWANA 1-2 MALI | Libreville |
| Eurosport2 | Wed 1 Feb, 18:00 | GHANA 1-1 GUINEA | Franceville |
| Group D Table | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| GHANA (Q) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| MALI (Q) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Guinea | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| Botswana | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
QUARTER FINALS
| TV | Date | Venue | |
| Eurosport | Sat 4 Feb, 16:00 | ZAMBIA 3-0 SUDAN | Bata |
| ITV4* | Sat 4 Feb, 19:00 | IVORY COAST 3-0 EQUATORIAL GUINEA | Malabo |
| Eurosport | Sun 5 Feb, 16:00 | GABON 1-1 MALI aet (5-4 to MALI on pens) | Libreville |
| Eurosport | Sun 5 Feb, 19:00 | GHANA 2-1 TUNISIA aet | Franceville |
SEMI FINALS
| TV | Date | Venue | |
| ITV4* | Wed 8 Feb, 16:00 | ZAMBIA 1-0 GHANA | Bata |
| Eurosport | Wed 8 Feb, 19:00 | IVORY COAST 1-0 MALI | Libreville |
THIRD-PLACED PLAYOFF
| TV | Date | Venue | |
| Eurosport | Sat 11 Feb, 19:00 | GHANA 0-2 MALI | Malabo |
FINAL
| TV | Date | Venue | |
| ITV4* | Sun 12 Feb, 19:30 | ZAMBIA 0-0 IVORY COAST AET. Zambia won 8-7 on pens. | Libreville |
SCORERS
3 Manucho (Angola), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), Cheick Diabate (Mali), Houssine Kharja (Morocco), Christopher Katongo (Zambia), Emmanuel Mayuka (Zambia)
2 John Mensah (Ghana), Andre Ayew (Ghana), Abdoul Camara (Guinea), Sadio Diallo (Guinea), Ahmed Saad Osman (Libya), Ihaab Boussefi (Libya), Mohamed Ahmed Bashir (Sudan), Mudather El Tahir (Sudan), Youssef Msakni (Tunisia)
1 Mateus (Angola), Dipsy Selolwane (Botswana), Mogakolodi Ngele (Botswana), Alain Traore (Burkina Faso), Issiaka Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso), Javier Balboa (Equatorial Guinea), Randy (Equatorial Guinea), Kily (Equatorial Guinea), Stephane N'Guema (Gabon), Daniel Cousin (Gabon), Bruno Mbanangoyé (Gabon), Eric Mouloungui (Gabon), Asamoah Gyan (Ghana), Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (Ghana), Mamadou Bah (Guinea), Naby Soumah (Guinea), Ibrahama Traore (Guinea), Salomon Kalou (Ivory Coast), Wilfried Bony (Ivory Coast), Emmanuel Eboue (Ivory Coast), Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast), Yao Gervinho (Ivory Coast), Bakaye Traore (Mali), Garra Dembele (Mali), Seydou Keita (Mali), Younes Belhanda (Morocco), William Ngounou (Niger), Dame N'Doye (Senegal), Moussa Sow (Senegal), Deme N'Diaye (Senegal), Khaled Korbi (Tunisia), Issam Jemaa (Tunisia), Saber Khelifa (Tunisia), Rainford Kalaba (Zambia), James Chamanga (Zambia), Stophira Sunzu (Zambia), Rainford Kalaba (Zambia)
1 own goal Bakary Kone (Burkina Faso) for Ivory Coast
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