FIFA World Cup official mascots

FIFA World Cup official mascots are a series of unique characters for each event. The trend began with the 1966 FIFA World Cup having World Cup Willie, one of the first mascots to be associated with a major sporting competition. The mascot designs represent a characteristic of the host country, such as flora, fauna, or costume.[1] The design is frequently one or more anthropomorphic characters targeted at children and coinciding with cartoon shows and merchandise.[2]

World Cup Mascot name Description
England 1966 World Cup Willie A lion, a typical symbol of the United Kingdom, wearing a Union Flag jersey with the words "WORLD CUP". Designed by freelance children's book illustrator Reg Hoye.[3] Bill Titcombe made a comic strip about the character.[4] In 2014, Lonnie Donegan Jr. re-recorded the campaign song originally sung by his father Lonnie Donegan.[5]
Mexico 1970 Juanito A boy wearing Mexico's kit and a sombrero (with the words "MEXICO 70"). His name is the diminutive of "Juan", a common name in Spanish.
West Germany 1974 Tip and Tap Two boys wearing Germany kits, with the letters WM (Weltmeisterschaft, World Cup) and number 74.
Argentina 1978 Gauchito A boy wearing Argentina's kit. His hat (with the words ARGENTINA '78), neckerchief and whip are typical of gauchos.
Spain 1982 Naranjito An orange, a typical fruit in Spain, wearing the kit of the host's national team. Its name comes from naranja, Spanish for orange, and the diminutive suffix "-ito".
Mexico 1986 Pique A jalapeño pepper, characteristic of Mexican cuisine, with a moustache and wearing a sombrero. Its name comes from picante, Spanish for spicy peppers and sauces.
Italy 1990 Ciao A stick figure player with a football head and an Italian tricolore body. Its name is an Italian greeting.
United States 1994 Striker, the World Cup Pup A dog, a common US pet animal, wearing a red, white and blue soccer uniform with the words "USA 94".
France 1998 Footix A cockerel, one of the national symbols of France, with the words "FRANCE 98" on the chest. Its body is mostly blue, like the host's national team shirt and its name is a portmanteau of "football" and the ending "-ix", a name suffix common among the Gauls. Other proposed names were "Raffy", "Houpi" and "Gallik".
  • The mascot for the 2019 Women's World Cup, also hosted by France, was a young female chicken named "ettie", portrayed as the daughter of Footix.[6]
South Korea/Japan 2002

Ato, Kaz, and Nik (The Spheriks)

 Orange, purple, and blue (respectively) futuristic, computer-generated creatures. Collectively members of a team of "Atmoball" (a fictional football-like sport), Ato is the coach while Kaz and Nik are players. The three individual names were selected from shortlists by users on the Internet and at McDonald's outlets in the host countries.
Germany 2006 Goleo VI Sidekick: Pille A lion wearing a Germany shirt with the number 06 and a talking football named Pille. Goleo is a portmanteau of the words "goal" and "leo", the Latin word for lion. In Germany, "Pille" is a colloquial term for a football.
South Africa 2010 Zakumi Zakumi is a leopard, a common animal found in South Africa, with green hair wearing a shirt saying South Africa 2010. Zakumi's green and gold colors represent South African national sports' teams colors. His name comes from "ZA", for South Africa, and "kumi", a word that means "ten" in various African languages.
Brazil 2014 Fuleco A Brazilian three-banded armadillo wearing a white T-shirt reading "Brasil 2014". The Brazilian three-banded armadillo is found only in Brazil and is classified as a vulnerable species, and the selection of Fuleco brings attention to Brazil's great biodiversity. The name Fuleco is a portmanteau of the words "Futebol" ("Football") and "Ecologia" ("Ecology").
Russia 2018 Zabivaka A wolf with a name that translates from Russian as The Goalscorer. Zabivaka wears red shorts and a blue and white T-shirt emblazoned with the words "Russia 2018". The colour combination is that of the Russian team, with the mascot being selected via internet voting.
Qatar 2022 TBA in 2020 TBA
Canada/Mexico/United States 2026 TBA in 2024 TBA

See also

References
  1. Kasprzak, Emma (2012-06-15). "BBC News - World Cup Willie's sporting mascot legacy". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-07-04.
  2. "FIFA World Cup official mascots". FIFA.com. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  3. Kasprzak, Emma (2012-06-15). "BBC News - World Cup Willie's sporting mascot legacy". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-06-17.
  4. "Bill Titcombe". lambiek.net.
  5. "World Cup Willie". footballandmusic.co.uk. 2007–2014. Retrieved 2014-06-17.
  6. "ettie revealed as Official Mascot for FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019". FIFA.com. 12 May 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.