Big names heading to this year's edition of the tournament include Mohamed Salah, Victor Osimhen and Bryan Mbeumo, and they'll all be looking to follow in the footsteps of those who have established themselves as national heroes at the tournament in the past.
Of those heroes, these are the top 10 greatest AFCON players ever:
10. Andre Ayew
Ghana's Ayew may have never got his hands on the trophy, losing in the final twice, but the former Marseille midfielder gave everything for the Black Stars over the years.
He's appeared in the joint-highest number of editions of the tournament (8) and also holds the joint-record for most appearances (36). What's more, he was named in the 2015 Team of the Tournament having ended it as the joint-top scorer.
9. Laurent Pokou
Pokou took AFCON by storm in the 1970s, scoring 14 times for the Ivory Coast to become the tournament's all-time top scorer, and he would hold on to that accolade for decades to come.
He's not higher on this list due to the fact that he only appeared in three editions of the tournament and never won it, but he remains an icon nonetheless, as shown by the fact that the ball at last year's edition was named after him.
8. Jay-Jay Okocha
Best known for dazzling the world on European soil for PSG and Bolton, Nigerian winger Okocha wasn't half bad on his home continent either.
He won it at the first time of asking, with the Super Eagles triumphing in 1994, but his best performances came later in his career, with him being named the player of the tournament after spearheading Nigeria's run to the semis in 2004 and also making the team of the tournament in 2000 and 2002.
7. Roger Milla
Milla needs no introduction, and while his most famous moments came on the even bigger stages of the World Cup, he certainly made his mark at AFCON too.
Across the five editions that he played, the Cameroon forward won two titles in 1984 and 1988, and was the player of the tournament in the latter year as well as in 1986.
6. Abedi Pele
The second Ayew on this list, the father of Andre was nicknamed and widely known as Pele from a young age thanks to his footballing talent, and he often lived up to that tag at AFCON.
After playing a part in Ghana's 1982 triumph, he was the star of the tournament 10 years later, scoring in three consecutive rounds to lead the Black Stars to the final. However, he was suspended for the final after picking up a booking in the semis, and they lost without him.
Having been named the best player, he went on to make the 1994 and 1996 teams of the tournament as well, establishing himself as a true AFCON legend.
5. Rashidi Yekini
From Osimhen to Yakubu to Obafemi Martins, Nigeria have had a number of top strikers over the years, but none better than all-time top scorer Yekini.
13 of his 37 goals for the Super Eagles came at AFCON, with the man known as The Goals Father leading his nation to the title (1994) and three further finals in their golden era of the 80s and 90s.
He was the top scorer at two of those tournaments and is right up there with the greatest forwards the tournament has ever seen.
4. Essam El Hadary
Nobody in the history of the sport is more familiar with AFCON glory than El Hadary, with the Egyptian goalkeeper boasting a simply remarkable record at the tournament.
He's won it a record-equalling four times, and while he didn't play a minute in the 1998 triumph, he was hugely influential as they won three editions in a row from 2006 to 2010, being named the competition's best goalkeeper in each of them.
What's more, he then became the oldest player to play a match of AFCON in 2017 at the age of 44, and helped Egypt reach the final with penalty shootout heroics against Burkina Faso in the semis.
In terms of AFCON icons, they don't come much bigger than El Hadary.
3. Samuel Eto'o
In case you've been living under a rock since the turn of the century and didn't know, Samuel Eto'o was a bit good.
He's AFCON's all-time top scorer with 18 goals in 29 matches across six editions, and two of those editions ended in triumph, with him helping Cameroon become champions in 2000 and 2002.
His finest moment came at the former tournament, where he scored in the quarters, semis and final to lead his nation to glory, and only the fact that 13 of his 14 AFCON goals after that came in the group stages cost him a place in the top two of this list. But hey, they all count!
Those goals also helped him become Cameroon's all-time top scorer, and as the president of the FA, he's reportedly going to extraordinary measures to retain that status ahead of this year's tournament...
2. Rigobert Song
Coming in at number two is Song, a man who arguably played an even bigger part in Cameroon's success at the start of the century than Eto'o.
The centre-back played every single minute of both the 2000 and 2002 tournaments as well as the ones in 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006 and 2008. That's a record total of 35 consecutive games, and only the aforementioned Ayew has appeared in as many AFCON editions and matches.
Song has more than just longevity going for him too, being crowned the 2002 player of the tournament and also making the dream teams in 2000 and 2006.
He's not quite our AFCON GOAT, but he comes mighty close.
1. Ahmed Hassan
Pipping Song to top spot is someone whose AFCON achievements are nothing short of mindblowing: Ahmed Hassan of Egypt.
Like compatriot El Hadary, Hassan lifted the trophy in 1998, 2006, 2008 and 2010, but he played a big part in all four of those triumphs, missing just three of the 35 matches across the 12 years.
In the 32 that he played, the midfielder got eight goals, six of which came in crucial knockout round matches, and became just the second player ever (after Milla) to be named the player of the tournament twice.
The record-equalling tally of those awards and titles, as well as the countless top performances over the years, make him our best AFCON player ever.
