Egypt Forced Into Last-Minute Kit Alteration Ahead of World Cup Opener

Enforcing tournament regulations, FIFA has ordered the Egyptian National Team to make urgent, last-minute changes to its official jerseys. The strict directive comes just a day before “The Pharaohs” kick off their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign against Belgium, leaving equipment managers scrambling to ensure compliance before taking the global stage. Football’s global governing body flagged two distinct violations on the Egyptian kit, requiring immediate removal and modification to avoid severe tournament sanctions.
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Image: Egypt jersey for the 2026 FIFA World Cup (screenshot youtube.com/@sumodataners)

Banned Stars and Legibility Blunders

The first major issue centers on the iconic stars historically emblazoned over the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) crest. The jersey originally featured seven stars, proudly celebrating Egypt’s record-breaking seven Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) titles.

However, under strict FIFA Equipment Regulations, stars displayed on national team jerseys are reserved exclusively for FIFA World Cup titles. Because Egypt has never won a World Cup, FIFA officials ruled the AFCON stars unauthorized and ordered them to be completely removed from the design.

Additionally, FIFA took issue with the aesthetic choice of the player names and squad numbers. Historically, Egypt has printed these details in a metallic gold font. Citing strict television broadcasting standards and referee visibility requirements, FIFA rejected the gold lettering due to a lack of visual contrast. The Egyptian federation was ordered to replace the gold font with standard, highly visible, flat white digits.

Fortunately, Egyptian team officials revealed they had anticipated the lettering issue and already have white-numbered replacement kits prepared for superstar Mohamed Salah and the rest of the squad.

Haiti Suffers Revolutionary Kit Ban Before Scotland Match

Egypt isn’t the only nation feeling the weight of FIFA’s uncompromising rulebook at this tournament. The Haitian National Team was dealt an even harsher blow just ahead of their highly anticipated Group C opening match against Scotland (0-1).

Haiti’s tournament jerseys, manufactured by Colombian sportswear brand Saeta, originally featured an intricate sublimated graphic depicting the historic 1803 Battle of Vertières. The design was intended as a tribute to the revolutionary conflict that successfully secured Haiti’s independence.

FIFA reviewed the design and ultimately banned all three variations of the Haitian kit. The governing body ruled that the historical war imagery violated strict protocols prohibiting the display of “political, religious, or personal messages or slogans” on field gear.

While Saeta defended the design as a celebration of culture rather than a political provocation, the manufacturer complied with the mandate and rushed clean, image-free jerseys to the Haitian squad on the eve of the match.