Willie (England 1966)

In 1966, England introduced the first FIFA World Cup mascot. From that moment on, every World Cup had and will have its own Mascot to promote the event and favor the sales of World cup-related merchandize. 1996´s mascot was “World Cup Willie”, a Lion who had no English values or icons (such as double-decker buses or the transit police). Still, Willie was not just another feline. It was a typical symbol of the United Kingdom, wearing a Union Flag jersey with the words "WORLD CUP". There are no doubts that Willie came as a big surprise for being the first FIFA World Cup mascot, but “he” was about to lose protagonism to Picklesm a home bitch who found the World Cup (the Jules Rimet cup) which had been stolen from the Westminster Central Hall in Lodon during the World Cup.

Juanito Maravilla (Mexico 1970)

The FIFA World Cup reached the land of the Aztecs in 1970, and they too had their own mascot to continue promoting the World Cup, as England first did back in 1966. Instead of following the animal mascot trend that England had started, Mexico introduced a little boy called “Juanito Maravilla”, the first human World Cup mascot. Juanito was a boy wearing a Mexico's kit and a sombrero (with the words "MEXICO 70"). His name is the diminutive of "Juan", a common name in Spanish. He is wearing the uniform of his national team and is stepping a “Telstar” ball which was introduced during the 1970 World Cup. The hat clearly stood for Mexican traditional values. Contrary to Willie –England 1966 World Cup Mascot- Juanito would be more popular throughout the world since the 1970 World Cup was the first one to be broadcast on TV. Therefore, those lucky enough to have a TV, could see Juanito on every match and World Cup ads. This “little dude” became a Mexican symbol and his innocence stood for fair play matches in that particular World Cup, since not a single red card was shown to a player throughout the entire tournament.

Tip & Tap (Germany1974)

For those who think that 2002 Korea-Japan mascot was the first multiple mascot of World Cup, they were mistaken. Following the human mascot formula from Mexico, 1974 World Cup presented two joyful German kids called “Tip y Tap”. One of them was blonde and the other brunette, some say they stood for Western and Eastern Germany respectively. In spite of their separation, these two kids hugging each other hope the two countries could play without differences and of course, kindly welcome all countries throughout the world to play the FIFA World Cup. These Two boys were wearing Germany kits and despite not having the colors of neither Western nor Eastern Germany, they had the letters WM (Weltmeisterschaft, which means World Cup) and the number 74. Tip and tip designers were greatly criticized for not having the typical beer on their mascot jar that represented Germany throughout the world.

Gauhito Mundialito (Argentina 1978)

In 1978 FIFA World Cup, the “Gauchito Mundialito” made his appearance as Argentina´s mascot. Gauchos are a traditional symbol in the host country. Argentinean kids were fond of the little “Gaucho”, but the mascot was also highly criticized by many since its design resembled the one of Juanito -1970 Mexico´s mascot. The latter was stepping on a ball, and Gauchito was kicking one and they both had a hat characteristic of their respective countries. Nevertheless, the A boy wearing Argentina's kit with his hat (with the words ARGENTINA '78), neckerchief and whip –used to ride horses and drive cattle- are typical of gauchos. The 1978 World Cup mascot was baptized as the “Playmobil of the Pampas” and it was the first mascot to hide his belly button.

Naranjito (Spain 1982)

Exuding charm, energy and even vitamins, “Naranjito” came along, the Spanish mascot from 1982 FIFA World Cup. Naranjito is 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". As in previous mascots, Naranjito wore the kit of the host's national team and had a ball in his arms as Mexican and Argentinean mascots previous previously had. Though at first people disliked Naranjito, he became quite popular and it´s now considered one of the most popular World Cup mascots. He even had its own show called “Fútbol en Acción” (football in action) and showcased Naranjito as main protagonist, which was accompanied by other two characters. The animated cartoon was broadcasted only in Spain and had 26 20-minute episodes.

Pique (Mexico 1986)

Mexico was once again staging a FIFA World Cup and of course, they had to design a new design, completely different from Juanito –1970 mascot. After the success of Naranjito –1982 World Cup mascot- Mexico had to pick among 600 mascot designs and choosing one was not an easy task. “Pique” was the winner, which design wasn´t totally clear. Some people didn’t know if it was a Cactus, a pickle or even an Alien. Despite people´s conjectures, it was actually a chili pepper -or 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. As in most previous mascots, he had a ball around his arm. He was indeed wearing the colors of Mexico, but some people didn’t notice it since it was a green chili pepper and he had to wear a red shirt and white pants for the mascot to watch Mexico´s colors.

Ciao (Italy 1990)

1990 World Cup´s mascot is one of the most symbolic ones, but also one of least clear one as far as design goes, perhaps due to its simplicity. “Ciao” is a stick figure player with a football head and an Italian tricolore body. Its name itself is an Italian greeting (meaning hello or bye-bye). Even though there were different opinions as regards the meaning of the mascot, it was just a stick figure with a ball as a head and its body was formed from the five letters of the host country (Italy) with its corresponding colors (red, green and white) that gave shape to a football player. One thing is for sure. The 1990 World Cup wasn’t the most popular among kids and the Joseph Blatter (FIFA General Secretary) wasn´t very fond of it either.

Stryker (United States 1994)

After almost 30 years and 7 mascots, the most obvious of mascots finally arrived. It was nothing more and nothing less than a dog called Striker. It was designed by Warner Bros Studios for the 1994 World Cup held in the United States. This World Cup pup had to deal but also with being a redundant mascot, but also encourage American people to watch and get somewhat involved into soccer, contrary to other countries throughout the world. Strike wore a red, white and blue football uniform with the words "USA 94" and despite it was criticized for its stream of platitudes, it was also praised for its simplicity. However, Striker somehow failed to promote the World Cup and kids seemed to forget about him pretty quick, and everyone knows that kids are the main focus when it comes to merchandizing. According to the host country, Strike was just a nice companion that had the role of a football striker and seek to encourage American players to improve their soccer skills.

Footix (France 1998)

Starting with a contest organized before the World Cup France 1998, “Footix” was born, the pet from this edition of the football championship. To no surprise, Footix was a rooster, the most representative and socially accepted symbol by the French; a roster also appears on the shield of the French Football Association. However, its name was loaded with great significance: it was the result of the combination of the word “football” in French, and the memory of a superhero that keeps alive on the comic, Asterix the Gaul. Furthermore, and as every other pet of the World Cups, this one also represented the organizer country through its colors. Because of that Footix, the nice and always smiley little Gaul rooster that was with the supporters during the World Cup matches had a red crest, blue feathers and a yellow beak. It was also accompanied by a “Tricolore” (the official balloon for that year’s World Cup), it was noticeable the blockers on its football shoes and carried an inscription on its chest that said “France 98”.

The Spheriks (Korea-Japan 2002)

The World Cup Korea-Japan 2002, the first to be held in 2 countries simultaneously, took up again the concept of multiple pet (Like Tip and Tap on Germany 1974) but in a way that caused astonishment, disagreements and a little bit of acceptance. The “Spheriks” are three eccentric fantasy characters that arrived from a distant planet on which a similar sport to the terrestrial football is practiced. On Aymozone, the planet where the creators of these creatures seem to be from too, Atmoball is practiced on an academy in which they also teach to encourage fair play. With that mission Ato (yellow), Nik (blue) and Kaz (violet) arrived to Korea-Japan 2002, the World Cup pets that watched over a clean match that always characterized the World Cups. It is difficult to find on the Spheriks, 2002 World Cup pets, a direct relation to the host countries, like it used to be a characteristic feature, clothing or color on other pets. These three “aliens” caused surprise and a bit of apathy, but despite that, they generated millions in sales of merchandising products.

Goleo VI (Germany 2006)

Maybe the explanation is obvious, but “Goleo VI”, the Official World Cup Germany 2006 pet, is a lion that was only wearing a shirt. But in contrast to the other World Cup pets that were “animated cartoons” or simply an illustration, Goleo was made of plush, wearing a shirt with the German colors and in company of a talking balloon. “Pille” was a balloon with a life of his own, a complete football erudite which became known for its humor and charm. The most interesting thing about this pet and his friend, the balloon that talked up a storm, was how they brought them to “life”. Goleo’s movements, the 7.5 feet tall lion, were controlled by a puppet master on his inside, who was only able to see the outside of the costume through an LCD monitor inside it, while Pille was controlled through remote control and through the distance by another person. Goleo IV, created by Jim Henson, the same person that created the “Sesame Street” characters, was the 2006 World Cup pet; but it’s worth to clarify that this was a lion that had nothing to do with Willie, the one from England 1966.

Zakumi (South Africa 2010)

The World Cup Southafrica 2010 generated many expectations around the globe, but one of them was solved with the successful introduction of the pet. “Zakumi” is a leopard that symbolizes the southafrican spirit, their geography and people, personifying non other than Southafrica 2010 essence. This pet, designed by Andries Odendaal in Cape Town, has a name composed by the combination of the “ZA”, for Southafrica, and “KUMI” that means ten (for the World Cup year) in a great amount of languages. The 2010 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee states that Zakumi is a leopard that chose football as the universal language to bring closer and unite people all over the world. But this Southafrican World Cup pet, following the steps of its idols, got the rights to color its hair green to camouflage itself with the grass of the game field. This one, as all the other World Cup pets starting with England 1966, carries a balloon as well, and a uniform with the colors of the host country, in which is printed the legend “South Africa 2010”.