The Egypt women’s national team have generated significant debate ahead of their opening Women’s Africa Cup of Nations WAFCON match against Zambia on Tuesday after appearing in jerseys bearing seven stars.
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The seven star debate
The controversy emerged after a promotional video published by the Confederation of African Football CAF on its dedicated women’s football channels showed the Egyptian squad wearing the starred kit in Morocco.
The seven stars positioned above the Egyptian Football Association crest represent the record number of Africa Cup of Nations titles won by the nation’s men’s team. In contrast, the women’s side have never won the continental trophy.
They are making only their third historical appearance at the WAFCON tournament and have never previously progressed past the first round, prompting questions over the appropriateness of wearing the decorated crest.
Egypt women are playing at WAFCON with seven stars above their badge despite never winning the tournament 😮🇪🇬They represent the men’s seven AFCON titles 😅 pic.twitter.com/FdqShEwJl3
— ESPN Africa (@ESPNAfrica) July 28, 2026
A familiar kit issue
This is not the first time the Egyptian jersey’s stars have caused administrative complications this year.
The men’s team wore the exact same design, albeit with different coloured squad numbers, during a pre tournament friendly against Brazil.
However, FIFA formally requested that the Egypt national team remove the continental stars from their kit during the recent 2026 World Cup held in the United States, Canada and Mexico as global regulations restrict such stars exclusively to previous World Cup victories.
FULL-TIME! 🇿🇲🇪🇬Zambia win it six to none. #TotalEnergiesWAFCON2026 pic.twitter.com/D2cCd3aDPt
— CAF Women Football (@CAFwomen) July 28, 2026
What happens next?
Egypt will begin their WAFCON campaign against Zambia on Tuesday aiming to secure their first ever progression from the group stage. It remains to be seen whether the team will continue to wear the 7 star jerseys during the official tournament matches or if an alternative unstarred kit will be mandated by officials before kick off.
Piala Dunia 2026
Piala Dunia FIFA 2026 akan menjadi edisi paling revolusioner dalam sejarah sepak bola dunia. Turnamen ini untuk pertama kalinya akan diselenggarakan di tiga negara sekaligus, yaitu Amerika Serikat, Kanada, dan Meksiko. Selain itu, jumlah peserta juga meningkat dari 32 menjadi 48 tim, membuka peluang lebih besar bagi negara-negara dari berbagai konfederasi untuk tampil di panggung global. Format baru ini akan menghadirkan lebih banyak pertandingan, atmosfer kompetisi yang lebih luas, serta jangkauan penonton yang semakin besar di seluruh dunia.
Dengan skala yang jauh lebih besar, FIFA menargetkan turnamen ini sebagai ajang yang tidak hanya kompetitif tetapi juga spektakuler dari sisi teknologi dan pengalaman penonton. Stadion-stadion modern di berbagai kota tuan rumah telah dipersiapkan untuk menghadirkan pertandingan berkelas dunia, didukung oleh inovasi seperti peningkatan sistem VAR dan pengalaman digital bagi fans. diprediksi akan menjadi tonggak baru dalam evolusi sepak bola internasional, memperkuat popularitas olahraga ini sekaligus menciptakan momen-momen bersejarah yang akan dikenang dalam waktu lama.
