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Cape Town - South Africa missed out on the chance to host just their third Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament on Tuesday when Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Ahmad Ahmad announced that Egypt would play host to the 2019 edition.
And truth be told the voting in the two-country race for the right to do so wasn't even close.
Egypt and South Africa emerged as the only two candidates to replace original hosts Cameroon who dropped out of the running due to delays in preparation and concerns over security.
South African Football Association (SAFA) and their president Danny Jordaan were widely reported to be confident of being the preferred replacement.
Alas, a CAF official confirmed that Egypt received 16 votes from the executive committee, South Africa one and there was one abstention.
As a result, Egypt will host their fifth AFCON tournament, while South Africa have played hosts on two previous occasions - memorably in 1996 when they lifted their only title to date - and 2013 (where they lost in the quarter-finals).
The tournament was first contested back in 1957, some 62 years ago.
Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia and Uganda have already qualified for the 2019 tournament.
The other 10 places will be filled after the final qualifiers between March 18-26.
Regarding Bafana Bafana's qualification, they currently lie second in Group E.
To book their place in Egypt, Stuart Baxter's men need to avoid defeat against war-torn Libya - who are two points behind in the group - with the match set to take place on March 22 at a yet to confirmed neutral venue.
The 2019 tournament will be the 32nd edition, and will be played from June 15 to July 13.
Complete list of Africa Cup of Nations hosts after Egypt were awarded the 2019 edition following a Confederation of African Football executive committee meeting in Dakar on Tuesday:
5: Egypt (1959, 1974, 1986, 2006, 2019)
4: Ghana (1963, 1978, 2000, 2008)
3: Ethiopia (1962, 1968, 1976), Tunisia (1965, 1994, 2004)
2: Gabon (2012, 2017), Equatorial Guinea (2012, 2015), Nigeria (1980, 2000), South Africa (1996, 2013), Sudan (1957, 1970)
1: Algeria (1990), Angola (2010), Burkina Faso (1998), Cameroon (1972), Ivory Coast (1984), Libya (1982), Mali (2002), Morocco (1988), Senegal (1992)
Note: the 2000 (Ghana/Nigeria) and 2012 (Equatorial Guinea/Gabon) tournaments were co-hosted
