Coach Gordon Igesund has picked his squad for the 2014 African Nations Championship, which includes midfielder Siphiwe Tshabalala.

This is the third edition of the biennial tournament which is organised by CAF. It is played between the best national teams in Africa, exclusively featuring players who are active in the national championships e.g., the Premier Soccer League, and qualified to play in the ongoing season.

Players playing outside their country’s national championship are not eligible to take part in the tourney.

The road to the final consists of five games and Siphiwe will be hoping to take Bafana to the final. The midfielder is sure to put in his best performance as he looks to make his mark on the African continent.

Tshabalala made his national team debut in a friendly against Egypt on 14 January 2006. He was part of the South African squad at 2006 African Nations Cup, 2008 African Nations Cup and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

At the 2010 World Cup “Shabba” earned his fiftieth cap for the national side and celebrated by scoring the opening goal of the event, which received a nomination for goal of the year award by FIFA. He has since gone on to make 71 appearances for the national side and has scored  a total of 10 goals.

CHAN first took place in 2009 and was hosted by Cote d’Ivoire and featured eight teams. It was won by the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The second edition was held in Sudan in 2011 and was expanded to sixteen teams, from eight in the previous competition. South Africa took part in the competition for the first time and won all of their group matches to finish ahead of Niger (in second), Zimbabwe (in third) and Ghana (in last place).

Bafana fell to Algeria in the quarterfinals, losing 2-0; whilst  Tunisia won the overall tournament, beating Angola 3-0 in Omdurman, Khartoum.

The 2014 version, which was meant to take place in Libya, will see all of the matches taking place in Cape Town (which is the host city), Bloemfontein and Polokwane.

“Mzansi”, as the hosts, will feature in group A alongside Mali, Nigeria and Mozambique. Coach Igesund is hoping that his charges will put on a good showing. He has picked a strong side that features six players from the 2012/13 Premiership champions, Kaizer Chiefs.

CHAN 2014 kicks off on the 11th of January 2014 and runs until the 1st of February 2014.