Back to today’s briefing

Story perspectives

FIFA Forces Egypt to Drop Seven Stars for 2026

6/14/2026

40 8 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

FIFA ordered Egypt to strip the seven stars and change gold player names and numbers to white before the 2026 World Cup.
Although the stars represent seven African Cup of Nations titles, FIFA permits stars only for World Cup wins.
Egypt was notified four months before its Group G opener on June 15, 2026 at Seattle Stadium.
Captain Mohamed Salah leads the team as it prepares to meet Belgium, New Zealand and Iran.

History

Historical Context

FIFA's equipment regulations (section 16.1) allow only a gold five-pointed star for each World Cup victory. Brazil displayed five stars after its 2002 triumph, establishing the benchmark used in FIFA's star policy. Egypt, which had seven stars for its seven Africa Cup of Nations titles, was forced to remove them before the 2018 World Cup and must replace them with numerals for its 2026 debut.

1 of 2

Story summary

FIFA ordered Egypt to strip the seven stars and change gold player names and numbers to white before the 2026 World Cup.
Although the stars represent seven African Cup of Nations titles, FIFA permits stars only for World Cup wins.
Egypt was notified four months before its Group G opener on June 15, 2026 at Seattle Stadium.
Captain Mohamed Salah leads the team as it prepares to meet Belgium, New Zealand and Iran.

1 / 2