Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe has said that the Africa Cup of Nations could be expanded from 24 to 28 teams.

Motsepe made the remarks at a press conference following a CAF executive committee meeting, but did not specify how the tournament structure would change or when the expansion might take effect.

The Africa Cup of Nations was expanded from 16 to 24 teams in 2019.

Motsepe also confirmed that the 2027 tournament will go ahead as planned in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

After an additional edition in 2028, the competition is expected to move to a four-year cycle.

He added that CAF plans to launch a new national league competition in 2029, to be played annually, with a 16-team finals tournament staged every two years.

“The adjustments reflect CAF’s commitment to developing world-class football with the best African players from all over the world returning to compete on the continent,” Motsepe said.

Motsepe, who was elected CAF president in 2021 and re-elected in 2025, is the first South African to lead the continental soccer governing body.

A Russian tanker carrying oil to Cuba has entered the waters off the Communist-run Island, Russia’s Interfax.

The oil shipment – the first to reach Cuba since January – comes hours after US President Donald Trump said that he had no problem with countries, including Russia, sending supplies to the island.

Trump’s remark appeared to signal a loosening of a de facto oil blockade his administration had imposed on Cuba since January.

Cuba has been experiencing a series of nation-wide blackouts as the blockade exacerbated existing shortages.

According to Interfax, the Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin is carrying a “humanitarian shipment” of 100,000 tonnes of crude oil.

Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) had warned that severe fuel shortages meant that Cuban hospitals were struggling to maintain emergency and intensive care services.

Cuba’s situation has deteriorated rapidly since 3 January, when US forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro – a staunch ally of the Cuban government – who had been providing the island with oil under highly preferential terms.

Trump also threatened to impose tariffs on any nation sending oil to Cuba.

Russian Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev said on Wednesday that Cuba “had found itself in a difficult situation as a result of sanctions pressure”.

“That is why we are currently sending humanitarian supplies to Cuba,” he added.

Just over a week ago, the US Treasury department added Cuba to a list of countries barred from receiving oil deliveries from Russia.

But in an apparent reversal of his strategy, Trump told journalists on board of Air Force One on Sunday that he had “no problem” with Russia delivering oil to Cuba.

“We have a tanker out there. We don’t mind having somebody get a boatload because they need (…) they have to survive,” he said.

It was not clear from Trump’s comment if this represented a reversal of the fuel blockade policy or just a temporary softening.

The Russian tanker is expected to offload the oil in Matanzas terminal in the coming hours.

The oil it carries is expected to provide Cuba with a short-term lifeline.

Its Communist government, led by President Miguel Díaz Canel, has been in talks with the Trump administration to find a route out of the crisis.

But both sides have publicly set out a number of political and economic red lines which make it hard to see where they could find common ground.

President Trump recently said he could “take” Cuba while the island’s leadership has said it refuses to accept any enforced changes to the personnel or political direction of its government.

Cuba was already facing its worst economic and energy crisis since the end of the Cold War, because of a combination of a fall in tourism after the coronavirus pandemic and government economic mismanagement.

This crisis has been further worsened by the de facto fuel blockade.

Commercial drivers operating along Upper Sakponba Road in Benin, Edo State, on Monday blocked sections of the busy road in protest against the recent increase in petrol prices.

The protesting drivers also urged their colleagues to immediately increase transport fares, warning that passengers who boarded buses at old rates would be forced to pay additional charges or be dropped midway.

The protest caused significant disruption, leaving many commuters stranded along Upper Sakponba Road.

One of the protesting drivers, who identified himself simply as John, said the demonstration was necessary for their survival, noting that the price of Premium Motor Spirit had risen sharply from about N870 to N1,350 per litre.

He said, “We were buying fuel for N870 before the increment, and we carry passengers for N500, but now fuel is N1,350 and we still carry passengers for the same amount. How do you expect us to survive?

“You buy fuel worth N25,000 for a day and settle the owner of the bus; how do you make money to take care of your family?”

A passenger, who pleaded anonymity, said she was travelling from Ring Road when she discovered that the road had been blocked, forcing drivers to discharge passengers.

“I was coming from Ring Road this morning. On getting to Oka Market, I discovered that the road was blocked by drivers who are agitating for an increase in transport fares due to the current rise in fuel prices.

“When they started forcing people to come down, I just parked my loads and got down. I want to cross the roadblock before I board another bus to Idogbo,” she said.

The rising cost of petroleum products has already triggered higher transport fares across parts of Benin City.

A trip from Idogbo, Upper Sakponba to Ring Road, which previously cost between N500 and N700, now ranges from N800 to N1,000.

Similarly, fares from Ikpoba Hill to Ring Road, which used to cost between N500 and N700, have increased to between N800 and N1,000.