Major rivals South Africa and Nigeria were drawn together on Wednesday in the first round of the 2014 African Nations Championship (Chan).
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Mali and Mozambique complete a tough Group A in a tournament for home-based footballers to be staged between January 11 and February 1 in South Africa.
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The rivalry between South Africa and Nigeria is among the most intense on the continent with the west Africans having a distinct advantage since it began 21 years ago.
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More than half the South African side are locals while eight of the 23 Nigerians at the 2013 Confederation Cup in Brazil play at home.
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South Africa are competing at the Chan for the second time with a makeshift team losing to Algeria in the 2011 quarterfinals in Sudan.
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It will be the first appearance by the Nigerians, who edged Ivory Coast 4-3 overall in a qualifying thriller to secure a place.
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The mini-league will be hosted by Cape Town, as will Group B, which comprises Zimbabwe, Uganda, Burkina Faso and Morocco.
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Ghana, runners-up in the inaugural Chan tournament four years ago, are in Bloemfontein-based Group C with Libya, Ethiopia and Congo Brazzaville.
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Democratic Republic of Congo, who beat Ghana to win the first edition in 2009, were placed in Group D, which is based in Polokwane, along with Gabon, Burundi and Mauritania.