Sunday finally sees the start of a tournament that has already been rescheduled twice as the Africa Cup of Nations 2021 begins in Cameroon.
Originally scheduled for last year, organisers decided to move the tournament from the original dates of June and July 2021 forward to January and February due to concerns about the "unfavourable climactic conditions" in Cameroon.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic saw the whole thing pushed back by a year, and so here we are. Third time lucky, and with some of the game's biggest stars ready to create more memories as Africa's best tussle it out for the continent's biggest prize.
On the eve of the competition, Stats Perform takes a look at some previous memories and classic moments from Africa Cup of Nations history, with penalty shoot-outs featuring heavily.
An Englishman won an international tournament (no, seriously)
Referee Ali Bin Nasser oversaw one of the most controversial moments in football history as far as England are concerned, missing the relatively clear handball by Diego Maradona as the great Argentine's "Hand of God" helped dump the Three Lions out of the 1986 World Cup.
One particular Englishman may have been more forgiving about Bin Nasser though as the Tunisian official also took charge of that year's Africa Cup of Nations final, which saw Mike Smith's Egypt side lift the trophy. Perhaps Bin Nasser felt England had already won enough that year by the time he got to Mexico City.
The Egyptians had won the first two iterations of the competition in 1957 and 1959, before finishing as runners-up to Ethiopia in 1962.
However, they had not reached another final before hosting the 1986 AFCON, and so there was plenty of pressure on Smith – a former Wales boss – to deliver.
It did not start well as the hosts lost 1-0 to Senegal in Cairo in their opening game, but wins against the Ivory Coast and Mozambique, and then a semi-final victory against Morocco saw Egypt into their first AFCON final in 24 years.
The reportedly 100,000 in attendance will have feared the worst as the game with Cameroon went to penalties following a goalless encounter, especially with an Englishman in charge, but when Andre Kana-Biyik shot wide for the Indomitable Lions, Smith and Egypt had their hands on the trophy and a famous victory.
A penalty shoot-out is a marathon, not a sprint
Many players know what it is like to take a pressure penalty in a shoot-out and score, some know what it is like to do so and miss, but very few have ever done both, especially in the same shoot-out.
The final of the 1992 AFCON between Ghana and the Ivory Coast had not exactly been a classic, and inevitably went to penalties, where finally some drama occurred.
After seven successful penalties, Ghana's Isaac Asare missed, giving Joel Tiehi the chance to win it. He also missed, and when Tony Yeboah just about scored his penalty, it was back level.
That is how it stayed until every single player, including the goalkeepers, had taken one, now level at 10-10. Ivory Coast's Basile Aka Kouame stepped up to take his second penalty, and hit it straight at Ansah, who somehow failed to stop it.
This meant that Ghana's Anthony Baffoe, who had calmly slotted his penalty at the start of the shoot-out, had to do so again. His second effort was saved and the Ivory Coast had won, leaving Baffoe to come to terms with the rare experience of being both a hero and a villain in the same shoot-out.
Bafana Bafana win maiden tournament
South Africa had actually never played in the AFCON until they hosted in 1996, having been disqualified from the first tournament for refusing to field a multiracial team and subsequently banned during apartheid, before failing to qualify in 1994.
However, with Kenya stripped of hosting duties two years later due to financial irregularities, South Africa were given a place in the tournament after agreeing to step in.
One helping hand in their quest to lift the trophy on home soil was a diplomatic row between Nelson Mandela and General Sani Abacha, the military leader of Nigeria. As a result, the defending champions, who would also go on to win Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996, did not compete.
A crowd of 75,000 in Soccer City watched their historic first AFCON appearance, which was a rather surprising 3-0 win over Cameroon. This was followed by a 1-0 win against Angola, which meant that they topped their group despite defeat to Egypt in their next game.
Six months prior, South Africa's rugby union side had lifted the World Cup on home soil, and now Clive Barker's team were also exciting the nation as they booked their place in the final back at Soccer City after wins over Algeria and Ghana.
They faced Tunisia in front of 80,000, who saw two late Mark Williams goals secure a surprisingly routine win to become the continent's champions.
As it turned out, that remains South Africa's one and only AFCON success to date, having not even reached a final since 1998.
Football is best when it means nothing
With the 2010 AFCON just days away, suddenly, the football did not seem so important.
A terrorist attack on the Togo team bus saw the driver, the team's assistant manager and media officer lose their lives, while several others suffered injuries.
The continent and the game was shaken, but the tournament still went ahead as planned, albeit without Togo who understandably withdrew.
The opening game between hosts Angola and Mali began with a moment's silence, before a frenetic 90 minutes that saw Angola throw away a four-goal lead with only 12 minutes remaining.
Flavio scored twice in the first half, and then a Gilberto penalty and another from former Manchester United striker Manucho gave Angola a seemingly comfortable advantage, only for Seydou Keita, Freddie Kanoute, Keita again and finally Mustapha Yattabare to complete a remarkable comeback.
It was galling for the hosts, though they still ultimately topped the group while Mali went out, but provided a welcome distraction from the horrifying events of days prior.
Zambia's greatest night
Nineteen years after the tragic plane crash that took the lives of all 30 passengers, including 18 players and the team coach of the national team, Zambia returned to Gabon to sensationally win the 2012 AFCON.
The team from 1993 had been on their way to a World Cup qualifier, in a reasonable position to qualify, when the old military plane they were on exploded over the Gulf of Guinea shortly after taking off from Libreville, Gabon. It was a devastating disaster that soured relations between Zambia and Gabon for years.
Fast-forward to 2011, and coach Herve Renard, who had been at the helm for the 2010 AFCON where Zambia were eliminated on penalties by Nigeria at the quarter-final stage, was brought back for another go ahead of the 2012 competition, which was to be held jointly by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
After winning the group, Zambia came through the quarter-final against Sudan with a routine 3-0 win, only for Ghana to await in the semi-final, who had captured the hearts of the world in their journey at the first ever World Cup held in Africa in 2010.
An Emmanuel Mayuka goal with 12 minutes remaining was enough to see them cause somewhat of an upset and advance to the final against arguably the strongest African side at the time, the Ivory Coast, in Libreville, just a few miles from the 1993 crash site.
Ahead of the game, the squad visited a beach nearby and sent an array of flowers floating out to sea.
The opponents' line-up included Premier League stars Salomon Kalou, Kolo and Yaya Toure, Didier Zokora and Didier Drogba, but a spirited young Zambia side matched them, taking them all the way to penalties after a goalless 120 minutes of football.
After seven successful penalties each, Zambia looked to have been handed their moment when Kolo Toure had his effort saved, only for Rainford Kalaba to shoot over.
However, when Gervinho did the same, it came down to Stoppila Sunzu, who smashed the ball into the net to win the trophy for his nation and seal a fitting tribute to those who were lost almost two decades earlier.
Gary Lineker congratulates Everton but ‘gutted’ as Leicester suffer relegation
Gary Lineker has congratulated Everton after his former club survived in the Premier League at the expense of his boyhood team Leicester.
The two clubs had been in jeopardy heading into the final round of fixtures on Sunday but ultimately Everton’s 1-0 victory over Bournemouth ensured they avoided the drop.
At one stage it looked as though it could be the Foxes who stayed up as they took an early lead against West Ham but their eventual 2-1 win was rendered academic by Everton’s result.
The Toffees ended the season in 17th place, two points ahead of Leicester, while Leeds were also relegated after a 4-1 loss to Tottenham.
Former England striker Lineker, who began his career at Leicester before spending a season at Everton in the mid-1980s, tweeted: “Absolutely gutted, but glad it’s Everton. Have a lot of love for that great football club. Congratulations.”
Leicester’s relegation comes seven years after they were crowned Premier League champions and just two years after they won the FA Cup.
Lineker added: “A word on Leicester. If eight years ago, you’d have given me the option of winning the Premier League and the FA Cup and then get relegated, I’d have snapped your hand off. Also I’d have told you not to be so utterly ridiculous.”
It has been a dismal season for Leicester and TV pundit Roy Keane was not sure how quickly they could recover.
The former Manchester United midfielder said on Sky Sports: “They didn’t seem to get any momentum into the season from a bad start. It’s no surprise to see them where they are.
“Clubs can bounce back but it isn’t easy. I think it is a rebuilding job at Leicester.”
Leeds’ three-year stint in the Premier League ended in a whimper as they were thrashed by Spurs at Elland Road.
The club had brought in Sam Allardyce in a last-ditch attempt to escape relegation with four games remaining but the former England boss was unable to engineer a recovery.
The team collected just one point from Allardyce’s games and finished in 19th position, five points behind Everton.
Keane was scathing of their performances.
He said: “They’ve looked weak over the last month or two, even with Sam coming in.
“They were fighting for their lives today and conceded four goals at home. That’s nowhere near good enough.
“Sam obviously came in too late. Defensively they look so weak. Some of the goals – it’s almost pub team defending.
“Not strong enough mentally, that desire – nowhere near good enough.”
Chelsea, meanwhile, aimed a parting shot at Leeds on social media.
Rivalry between those two clubs dates back to some hard-fought clashes in the 1960s and 70s.
In August, Leeds trolled Chelsea on Twitter during their 3-0 victory over the London club.
In that game, Chelsea tweeted the Blues were “starting to assert ourselves” just moments before Leeds opened the scoring and quickly followed with a second goal.
“Life comes at you fast!” Leeds tweeted in reply.
Now, nine months later, Chelsea have got their own back.
“It certainly does,” they tweeted.
Sir Elton John sends well-wishes as Jeff Stelling signs off from Soccer Saturday
Jeff Stelling revealed singer Sir Elton John was among his well-wishers this week as the presenter signed off from the “best job that anybody could possibly have wished for” at Soccer Saturday.
Stelling announced last month his intention to stand down as anchor of the Sky Sports programme after almost 30 years and earmarked the final day of the Premier League season on Sunday as his last show.
In the days leading up to his swansong, Stelling divulged he had messages of support from the likes of Gordon Strachan and Neil Warnock, plus a phone call from John, former chairman and director of Watford.
Stelling, an unapologetic Hartlepool fan who frequently celebrated their goals on Soccer Saturday, said: “Somebody asked me the other day if I’d ever been starstruck and yeah, I was starstruck when Elton John rang me at home to say ‘Thank you very much for all you’ve done’.
“He said ‘Every week I watch the show and every week you tell me Watford are losing and every week you tell me Hartlepool are losing so I feel like we’re kindred spirits’. There’s something in that, isn’t there?”
After touching tributes from colleagues past and present in a video montage, Stelling was given a standing ovation by the punditry panel of Paul Merson, Clinton Morrison, Kris Boyd and Michael Dawson.
Stelling, who had planned to quit last year before reversing that decision, briefly hid his emotions with a mask of himself and quipped: “This is tricky because I’ve changed my mind – just kidding.
“I haven’t changed my mind this time.”
Stelling was clearly moved by the highlights package Sky televised in the final minutes of the show after Everton retained their top-flight status and confirmed the relegations of Leeds and Leicester.
Merson, Alan Mullery, Frank McLintock, Clive Allen, Charlie Nicholas, Phil Thompson and Matt Le Tissier passed on their congratulations, as did Chris Kamara, who in a nod to the catchphrase that has become synonymous with the pair and the show, said: “You are unbelievable, Jeff!”
Stelling looked back fondly on his 30-plus years with Sky, in which he not only covered football but live snooker, darts, greyhound racing, pool and thanked everyone with whom he had worked.
In his farewell monologue, he added: “It’s been the best job that anybody could possibly have wished for. My wife takes great pleasure in saying ‘You are the luckiest man ever to take a breath’ and you know what? I don’t tell her this often but she’s right.
“The principle success of Soccer Saturday is you lot at home, who have given us unswerving support – both for the programme and for me personally.
“So that’s it. Soccer Saturday will be back next season. I’ll be watching – when Hartlepool are not playing. From me, goodbye.”
Espanyol suffer LaLiga relegation after dramatic Valencia draw
Espanyol were relegated from LaLiga after a dramatic draw with fellow strugglers Valencia on Sunday.
Luis Garcia's side will not be playing top-flight football next term after Samuel Lino's 93rd-minute goal snatched a 2-2 draw for Valencia, sending Espanyol down.
The White and Blues will join already relegated Elche in dropping down to the Segunda Division, while a host of other teams, including Real Valladolid, Celta Vigo, Almeria and Valencia, remain in danger.
Valladolid are in 18th place with one game remaining, one point behind Celta and Almeria, and two points adrift of Valencia, Getafe and Cadiz in a congested battle for survival.
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