History of FIFA World Cup mascots

Introduced for the 1966 World Cup, official mascots have become synonymous with the defining characteristics of a host nation – injecting a bit of fun and frivolity as well as promoting lucrative tournament merchandise


WORLD CUP WILLIE
England, 1966

JUANITO
Mexico, 1970

TIP AND TAP
West Germany, 1974

GAUCHITO
Argentina, 1978

NARANJITO
Spain, 1982

PIQUE
Mexico, 1986

CIAO
Italy, 1990

STRYKER
USA, 1994

FOOTIX
France, 1998
     
ANT, KAZ AND NIK
Korea/Japan, 2002

GOLEO VI & PILLE
Germany, 2006

ZAKUMI
South Africa, 2010

FULECO
Brazil, 2014

ZABIVAKA
Russia, 2018

LA’EEB
Qatar, 2022

La’eeb is an Arabic word meaning super-skilled player

Although not explicitly stated, La’eeb emulates appearance of a ghutra – traditional Arab cloth headdress worn in Qatar

Creators of La’eeb say it hails from parallel mascot-verse that is indescribable – and that its form is open to interpretation

La’eeb is adventurous, fun and curious, and encourages everyone to believe in themselves

     
Source: FIFA
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