FIFA bans Egypt’s jersey from the World Cup
Soccer’s governing body has ordered Egypt to change its uniform, including removing the stars above its crest and altering the color of its jersey numbers.
The 2026 World Cup is only just underway, but the controversies keep coming.
This time, the dispute involves Egypt and FIFA. Soccer’s governing body has informed the North African nation that its current uniform does not comply with tournament regulations and must be modified before the team takes the field.
FIFA has requested two changes: the removal of the stars above Egypt’s crest and a change to the color of the jersey numbers.
What changes have Egypt been forced to make?
Egypt proudly wears seven stars above its badge, each representing one of the country’s Africa Cup of Nations titles. The Pharaohs won the continent’s premier international tournament in 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008 and 2010, making them the most successful team in AFCON history.
However, FIFA has informed the Egyptian Football Association that those stars cannot be displayed during the World Cup. Under FIFA rules, only World Cup titles can be represented by stars on national team crests during the tournament. Since Egypt has never won the World Cup, it will be required to remove them.
FIFA informed us that stars representing continental tournaments are not allowed on World Cup shirts.
Egyptian Football Federation
The team will also have to make another adjustment.
Egypt’s jerseys feature gold-colored numbers, a design element the national team has used for years. FIFA has again taken a strict approach, citing visibility concerns for television broadcasts and match officials.
The governing body has instructed Egypt to change the numbers to white in order to improve contrast and make them easier to read.
Unlike the issue involving the stars, Egyptian officials were already aware of the numbering requirement and had been preparing for the change. The updated jerseys are expected to be ready in time for Egypt’s World Cup opener against Belgium on Monday.
FIFA also requested that the shirt numbers be changed to white instead of gold to improve visibility. This is not a surprise and we were already aware of it before the tournament.
Egyptian Football Federation
Haiti also forced to change uniform
Egypt aren’t the only country being forced to make a uniform change. Haiti were told to remove a flag on the right hip of the jersey, celebrating Haiti’s independence, for being too political.
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