The opening ceremony for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. © Backpagepix

Zambia players and technical staff lay flowers at the scene of the 1993 Gabon air disaster, which killed the entire national team. © Backpagepix

Zambia celebrate their victory at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. © Backpagepix

Orlando Pirates coach Augusto Palacios celebrates with his players after winning against SuperSport United, a victory that helped them defend their league title. © Backpagepix

Didier Drogba moves from Chelsea to Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua on a reported £200 000 weekly salary. © Action Images

Former Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane reacts during a 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifier against Botswana. He was fired in June after a string of poor results. © Gallo Images

SuperSport United players hold a poster of former Bafana Bafana assistant Tommy Madigage, who died in a car accident in October. © Gallo Images

Botswana make their first-ever appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations. The opening match against pre-tournament favourites Ghana ended in a 1-0 win for the Black Stars. The Zebras of Botswana experience a nightmare of a tournament and leave Gabon and Equatorial Guinea without a single point. © Backpagepix

Steven Pienaar during the 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifier match against Botswana at the University of Botswana Stadium on 8 June. A month after returning to Everton, the Bafana skipper retired from international football. © Backpagepix

Cameroon fail to qualify for the 2013 African Cup of Nations following their defeat against Cape Verde. © Gallo Images

Another tragedy hits SA football as four players from NFD side Polokwane City are killed in a motor accident. © Backpagepix

SuperSport United are crowned the 2012 Nedbank Cup champions following their victory against Mamelodi Sundowns at Orlando Stadium. © Backpagepix

Nigeria beat Liberia 6-1 in the final Afcon 2013 qualifying match to book a ticket to South Africa. © Backpagepix

Egyptian club Al-Ahly defy all odds to win the African Champions League – this despite the fact that the domestic league has been inactive for a number of months. They beat Esperance of Tunisia 2-1 to lift the trophy and qualify for the Fifa Club World Cup. ©Backpagepix

Bloemfontein Celtic win the Telkom KO with a 1-0 win against favourites Mamelodi Sundowns in Durban. ©Backpagepix

The SA national women`s team, Banyana Banyana, had a productive year as they played in the Olympics, then made it to the final of the African Women`s Championships. © Gallo Images

Bernard Parker fights for possession against Andile Jali in the Soweto Derby, which ended in a 1-1 draw. © Backpagepix