Overview
- FIFA told the Egyptian Football Association to remove the seven stars that represented Egypt’s Africa Cup of Nations titles and to change gold player names and numbers to white, a directive reported on Saturday and required to be completed before Egypt’s opening match.
- The EFA said FIFA first raised the stars issue about four months ago and described the latest reminder as a routine compliance step rather than a sudden move.
- Puma implemented the white-number change after FIFA flagged visibility concerns for broadcast and refereeing, and had to coordinate urgent production and delivery ahead of Egypt’s Group G opener.
- FIFA’s rule reserves stars on World Cup shirts exclusively for World Cup victories, a policy meant to maintain consistent tournament symbolism and applied here despite Egypt’s record seven AFCON wins; Uruguay remains a noted historical exception.
- The Egypt case fits a broader pattern of strict pre-tournament kit policing, including recent orders to remove political imagery, and highlights how brand, national symbolism and broadcast legibility can create last‑minute operational strains for teams and suppliers.