After the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations came to an end on Sunday night, all the competition's award winners have been confirmed and announced, with South Africa represented in two categories.
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In what turned out to be a turnaround for the ages, host nation Ivory Coast got their hands on the main trophy after beating Nigeria 2-1 in Abidjan in the final of the tournament on Sunday, this after almost crashing out at the group stage.
Interim manager Emerse Fae admitted it was difficult for him to fully comprehend what he called a "fairy tale" ending when he shared his thoughts on the Elephants' triumph following goals from Franck Kessie and Sebastien Haller.
"It is more than a fairy tale. I am struggling to take it all in," he said, according to the Daily Mail.
"When I think about all we have been through, we are miracle survivors. We never gave up and we managed to come back from so many tough blows."
The AFCON's individual accolade winners were revealed on CAF's website, meanwhile, with Super Eagles defender and on-field captain William Troost-Ekong claiming the Best Player award.
The Golden Boot was won by Equatorial Guinea's Emilio Nsue, who scored five goals in the Ivory Coast to beat Angola's Dala Gelson and Egypt's Mostafa Mohamed to the prize.
South Africa's No. 1 Ronwen Williams scooped the Best Goalkeeper award after his memorable displays at the tournament, particularly his penalty-saving heroics against Cape Verde at the quarter-final stage.
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It did not, however, end there for Bafana Bafana, who also were handed the Fair Play award.
Ivory Coast's Simon Adingra, who assisted twice in the final, claimed the Best Young Player prize, while Fae was handed the Best Coach accolade.
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