EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ -- Egypt will play their FIFA World Cup matches in kits not bearing the stars commemorating their seven Africa Cup of Nations victories, following a reminder from FIFA, according to the Egyptian Football Association.
The Pharaohs typically boast seven stars above their national-team crest on their football kits to recognise each of their continental triumphs, but were already reminded earlier this year that their Puma designs must be adapted to meet FIFA guidelines.
EFA Media Officer Mohamed Morad Thabet told ESPN: "It was a routine procedure: four months ago, FIFA notified the Football Association regarding the issue of not displaying the Africa Cup of Nations stars on the national team's jersey during World Cup matches.
"[This was a] notification, it was merely a routine step. The national team had already anticipated this and made the necessary preparations well in advance."
Typically, the accompanying of stars to commemorate historical honours on kits is at the discretion of national teams themselves, with different national federations opting to interpret the guidelines in different ways.
However, for the World Cup, FIFA insist on stars only being worn on national team kits to commemorate victories in the competition itself.
The only exception is Uruguay, who are allowed to wear four stars - two for the World Cups won in 1930 and 1950, and two more for their Olympic gold medal triumphs of 1924 and 1928, both competitions organised by FIFA.
The Pharaohs are returning to the World Cup for the first time since 2018, where they were eliminated in the group stage in Russia after losing all three of their first round matches. Previously, they participated in 1934 and 1990 without ever having won a fixture at the competition.
Egypt have also changed the colour of the numbers on their kit in response to a further FIFA request.
"FIFA requested a change in the jerseys' numbers from gold to white," Morad continued.
"Puma, the company responsible for the jerseys' colour scheme made the switch to white to ensure the numbers were more clearly visible."
Egypt's tournament begins with a match against Belgium in Seattle on Monday before they face New Zealand in Vancouver six days later. Their Group G campaign concludes against Iran in Seattle on June 26.