World Cup Mascots – A Look at all the World Cup mascots Since 1966
In the latest edition of our World Cup blog, we will be exploring the often wacky world of World Cup mascots. In each World Cup tournament, the host country reveals a mascot that will feature in all the host’s games. We’ll tell you all you need to know about this often strange tradition.
World Cup Mascots Past & Present
With the eyes of the world on the country, it is a great chance for the World Cup host to display it’s core values and traditions. And what better way to do it than an 8-foot cuddly mascot? They are often paired with the official World Cup anthems!
Now before you dismiss this tradition, the bad news is that we started it. The first World Cup mascot was World Cup Willie, who graced Wembley in 1966. Since then, 14 other mascots have represented their country, and we explore these in more detail in the next section.
Official World Cup Mascots: The Full List
As we mentioned in the previous section, having a World Cup mascot only became a thing when England hosted the World Cup in 1966. It is thought that the marketing campaigns of TV shows such as Dr Who and the Daleks had convinced the English Football Association to create a marketable asset. If true, it’s no surprise that FIFA followed the lead and now gives its blessing to an official FIFA World Cup mascot every four years.
Here is a complete list of World Cup Mascots since 1966:
| World Cup Mascots | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Country | Mascot’s Name | Mascot Description |
| 1966 | England | World Cup Willie | Two animals often represent England, the lion and a bulldog. However, it took the designers just five minutes to decide on a lion and just five more for Reginald Hoye to create “Willie”. Four years later, to celebrate the World Cup in Mexico, Hoye placed a sombrero on Willie and became the England team mascot for the 1970 World Cup |
| 1970 | Mexico | Juanito | The FIFA World Cup mascot for Mexico was Juanito, a chubby looking Indian boy with a huge sombrero with a football. |
| 1974 | Germany (West) | Tip and Tap | West Germany’s official mascot in 1974 was a pair of boys called Tip and Tap. Tip had WM on his chest, standing for Weltmeisterschaft, the German word for World Cup, and Tap had 74 on his shirt. |
| 1978 | Argentina | Gauchito | Argentina’s World Cup mascot in 1978 was a young boy called Gauchito. The smiley mascot was dressed in an Argentinian kit with a hat and a whip to represent a gaucho, a skilled horseman. |
| 1982 | Spain | Naranjito | Naranjito, the mascot of the World Cup in Spain in 1982, is one of the most controversial FIFA World Cup mascots. Naranjito’s designers won a million pesetas prize for designing the mascot, a smiley orange but were later accused of plagiarism. Chicho Ibañez Serrador threatened to sue due to similarities to his famous pumpkin, Rupert. |
| 1986 | Mexico | Pique | Pique, a jalapeño pepper with an impressive moustache and a sombrero, was Mexico’s official World Cup mascot in 1986. His name comes from the Spanish word Picante which translates as spicy peppers. |
| 1990 | Italy | Ciao | The official mascot of Italia ’90 is a strange creation that looks like a long lost lovechild of the Channel 4 logo. It has a Tricolore body with a football for its head. It’s name goes without saying, the Italian for both hello and goodbye. |
| 1994 | USA | Striker | When the USA held the tournament in 1994, their choice of the official mascot was Striker, a cartoon dog wearing a USA kit with a football at his feet. Striker is in our opinion, one of the best World Cup mascots as he bears a passing resemblance to Muttley from the from the Dastardly and Muttley cartoons from the 80’s. |
| 1998 | France | Footix | Footix, the World Cup mascot of France 1998, is one of the most iconic characters in football. A blue cockerel represents the colours France plays in, and the bird is one of the national symbols of France, and he has France 98 on his chest. |
| 2002 | South Korea / Japan | Ato, Kaz, and Nik | Ato, Kaz, and Nik, as you would expect from the manga obsessed countries of South Korea and Japan, are perhaps the strangest of the official World Cup mascots. The trio form a fictional team in a fictional sport called Atmosball. They are bizarre but very colourful characters. |
| 2006 | Germany | Goleo VI feat: Pille | At first glance, Goleo looks like a pretty cheap copy of our World Cup Willie, except he’s sporting the white of the German team. His name is a combination of goal and Leo, the Latin for Lion. While his sidekick is Pille, a German colloquial for football. |
| 2010 | South Africa | Zakumi | The South African mascot of the 2010 World Cup was Zakumi, a brightly coloured leopard with a bright green main and a golden body, the national team’s colours. Zakumi combines ZA for South Africa and Kumi, a word meaning “ten” in several South African languages. |
| 2014 | Brazil | Fuleco | Brazil raised the cute stakes in 2014 when they introduced Fuleco, an armadillo that is an endangered species and only found in Brazil. The name is derived from “Futebol” and “Ecologia” (Ecology). |
| 2018 | Russia | Zabivaka | Russia’s entry to the World Cup mascot’s hall of fame is Zabivaka, a football-playing wolf. Russia’s mascot got the nod of approval after an internet vote, and like the national team, he wears red shorts and a white top. Zabivaka translates to “The Goalscorer” in English. |
FIFA World Cup Mascot: Qatar 2022
If we could suggest to FIFA how they could improve the entertainment at the World Cup, it would be to follow the lead of sports such as Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball and introduce mascot races. We’d love to see World Cup Willie taking on Goleo for the bragging rights of the best World Cup mascot! Or an It’s a Knock-out style contest, the choice is yours FIFA!
It would also make an attractive new market for punters when World Cup betting.
The World Cup mascot for this year’s World Cup that starts in November in Qatar is La’eeb. This ghost-like character is actually a Keffiyeh, a traditional Arabian headdress that predominantly men in the region wear. With wide eyes, eyebrows and a gaping mouth, La’eeb does have a Casper the ghost look to him, which is bound to appeal to the younger audience.
Introducing Tazuni – The Women’s Football World Cup Mascot
With the Women’s World Cup set to take place in July 2023, the Mascot for the tournament has been announced – meet Tazuni, the football loving Penguin:
She is confident.
She is stylish.
She is Tazuni.With a name coming from a mix of Tasman Sea, where she was born, and Unity, this 15-year-old is ready to capture the spirit of an event that will go #BeyondGreatness! ✨ pic.twitter.com/TMIpeAL3LL
— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) October 18, 2022
Speaking about the Mascot,FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura said: “Tazuni stands for everything which makes the Women’s World Cup unique, and her story will resonate with millions of young fans around the world.
“We look forward to her playing a starring role in the tournament and helping to inspire the next generation as we continue to take women’s football and the FIFA Women’s World Cup Beyond Greatness.”
