FIFA 2026

The Animals of FIFA

A look at all the animals representing their countries as FIFA mascots throughout the years!

Tayte Kelley

Jul 14, 2026 — 3 min read

The 2026 FIFA mascots of Canada, Mexico and the United States.

World Cup Willie, England's mascot in 1966, started the mascot tradition and FIFA World Cup 2026 will be the 16th edition to feature tournament mascots!

World Cup Willie, a lion wearing a Union Jack jersey with ‘WORLD CUP’ on the front, is the original FIFA mascot representing England for the 1966 World Cup.

In 1994, the United States held a public vote for their tournament’s mascot. Their choice was Striker, a dog fitted in the hosts’ red white and blue uniform.

France's 1998 mascot, a traditional Gallic rooster named Footix.

A comeback of the original lion mascot accompanied by a talking football (reminiscent of Cast Away) for the 2006 World Cup, Goleo VI and Pille was voted as the favourite mascot of the World Cups between 2002 and 2018.

This friendly leopard’s name is a composition of 'ZA', for South Africa, and 'kumi', which translates as "ten" in various languages across Africa.

The name of Brazil's 2014 mascot, Fuleco, is a fusion of the words 'futebol' and 'ecologia', meaning soccer and ecology.

A wolf named Zabivaka, meaning “the one who scores”, was developed by student designer Ekaterina Bocharova, he was chosen following a vote on FIFA.com, that more than one million Russians took part in.

Maple™ the Moose, Zayu™ the Jaguar and Clutch™ the Bald Eagle - Canada, Mexico and the United States 2026

The three official mascots were unveiled in September 2025 for the 2026 FIFA World Cup; Maple the Moose representing Canada, Zayu the Jaguar representing Mexico and Clutch the Bald Eagle representing the United States.

FIFA Women's World Cup

Ling Ling is the first official mascot of the FIFA Women's World Cup, introduced for the 1991 Women's World Cup in China. This mascot is an anthropomorphic bird, believed to be a finch.

Nutmeg, a female fox, is the United State's official mascot of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 1999.

Karla Kick, a cat, is the mascot of the 2011 Women's World Cup in Germany.

Shuéme the owl, is the official mascot of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015. Her name derives from the French word "Chouette" meaning "Owl".

Ettie is the mascot of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 in France, she is a chicken who is Footix's daughter (the 1998 French World Cup mascot), and her name comes from the French word "Etoile" which means star.

Tazuni is the mascot of the Women's World Cup 2023 hosted by Australia and New Zealand. She is a penguin based on the "Eudyptula Minor", the smallest species of penguin and her name is a portmanteau of the Tasman Sea and the word "Unity".