Fuleco the Armadillo is the official mascot of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. It is a Brazilian three-banded armadillo, a species of armadillo which is native to Brazil and categorized as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List, it was officially launched as part of Brazilian broadcaster TV Globo’s weekly Fantástico entertainment show on 25 November 2012. He is a likeable character - he scores 7.3 out of 10 on appeal. Research has revealed that he is seen as an appealing character widely thought to represent the words, 'Brazil', 'Nature', 'Friendly' and 'Passion for Football'. It is a portmanteau of the words Futebol(football) and Ecologia (Ecology). The name Fuleco was chosen over the names Amijubi (Amizade - Friendship and Júbilo - Joy) and Zuzeco (Azul - Blue andEcologia - Ecology) by more than 1.7 million football fans. The mascot, with its message of environmental concerns, the ecology and the sport turned out to be very popular with football teams around the world
.
Each FIFA World Cup since 1966 has its own mascot. World Cup Willie, the mascot for the 1966 competition, was the first World Cup mascot, and one of the first mascots to be associated with a major sporting competition. The mascot designs show some representing a characteristic feature (costume, flora, fauna, etc.) of the host country.[1]
The World Cup mascot is frequently one or more anthropomorphic characters targeted at children with cartoon shows and other merchandise released to coincide with the competition.
| World Cup | Mascot(s) | 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.[2] In 2014 Lonnie Donegan Jnr re-recorded the campaign song originally sung by his father Lonnie Donegan.[3] | |
| 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 andTap
| 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 football uniform with the words "USA 94". |
| France 1998 |
Footix
|  | A rooster, 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" from the popularAstérix comic strip.[citation needed] Other proposed names were "Raffy", "Houpi" and "Gallik". |
| South Korea/Japan 2002 |
Ato, Kazand 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 |  | 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 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 |  | 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 | TBA |
