They almost become as famous as the players who light up the World Cup, and sometimes they can be as controversial as decisions made during the tournament.
We’re talking about the mascots, and there have been some pretty interesting – and odd -- ones through the years.
The first was the quintessentially English lion (with the quintessentially Scottish moniker), World Cup Willie, in 1966.
Willie was considered a commercial masterstroke, who sent a feelgood factor through the team. If he could have talked, he might have even claimed it was he who helped England win the Jules Rimet trophy, as it was then.
Others include Mexican sombrero wearing boy, Juanito (1970); Naranjito, the Spanish orange (1982); German lion Goleo and his sidekick talking ball, Pille (2006); and, of course, Striker, the American pup of 1994.
Goleo was criticized because most people couldn’t see what a lion had to do with Germany, while Japan and South Korea fought over, amongst other issues, what to name its trio of representatives. The Koreans thought the names – Ato, Kaz and Nik -- were too Japanese.
And now we have South Africa’s Zakumi.
Zakumi is a leopard, a common animal found in South Africa, with green hair and wearing the green and gold colors representing those of the host nation.
His name comes from "ZA", (which stands for South Africa), and "kumi", a word that means "10" in various African languages. We are told by FIFA he is a “mascot with attitude,” and is jolly, self-confident, adventurous, spontaneous and very shrewd. Others have called him “creepy.”
I didn’t know this previously, but Zakumi is 15-years-old and his birthday falls on June 16. It coincides with Youth Day in South Africa and also with the game between the host nation and Uruguay.
Here’s the controversy: Zakumi figurines were being made in China by Shanghai Fashion Plastic Products as part of a contract in excess of $112 million.
South Africans were not best pleased on hearing this, as they believe the merchandise should be sourced locally so as to give a boost to the flailing manufacturing sector. There was also a bit of politicking going on too, as the contract was awarded to a company owned by an ANC representative member in the South African parliament.
Allegation of sweatshop conditions at the Chinese factory led to an audit, which revealed a number of non-compliance issues.
As a result, FIFA suspended the contract last month due to the abuses.
So all’s good again, except for the fact that there’s still those who think the jolly chap looks a bit creepy. You can decide for yourself come June 11.
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