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. The design is frequently one or more anthropomorphic characters targeted at children and coinciding with cartoon shows and merchandise.
World CupMascot nameDescription
England 1966World Cup WillieA 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. Bill Titcombe made a comic strip about the character. In 2014, Lonnie Donegan Jr. re-recorded the campaign song originally sung by his father Lonnie Donegan.
Mexico 1970JuanitoA boy wearing Mexico's kit and a sombrero. His name is the diminutive of "Juan", a common name in Spanish.
West Germany 1974Tip and TapTwo boys wearing Germany kits, with the letters WM and number 74.
Argentina 1978GauchitoA boy wearing Argentina's kit. His hat, neckerchief and whip are typical of gauchos.
Spain 1982NaranjitoAn 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 1986PiqueA 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 1990CiaoA stick figure player with a football head and an Italian tricolore body. Its name is an Italian greeting.
United States 1994Striker, the World Cup PupA dog, a common US pet animal, wearing a red, white and blue soccer uniform with the words "USA 94".
France 1998FootixA 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".
South Korea/Japan 2002Ato, Kaz, and Nik Orange, purple, and blue futuristic, computer-generated creatures. Collectively members of a team of "Atmoball", 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 2006Goleo VI Sidekick: PilleA 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 2010ZakumiZakumi 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 2014FulecoA 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" and "Ecologia".
Russia 2018ZabivakaA 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 2022TBA in 2020TBA
Canada/Mexico/United States 2026TBA in 2024TBA