Qatar 2022: the first World Cup mascot, the one that had its own program and the one that came out of a multiverse

• La’eeb, the official mascot of the Qatar 2022 World Cup has been presented | VIDEO

In the 1960s, the image of the World Cup needed to be renewed to attract the new generations. A symbol was needed that would strengthen ties between the fans. To do this, the organizers of the 1966 World Cup in England turned to the company Walter Tuckwell and Associates, an expert in marketing and franchises for children’s films and products. His mission was to create the first World Cup mascot.

The illustrators Reg Hoye and Richard Culley were in charge of creating the mascot that would give new energy to the world cup. The first idea came in the form of a bulldog. But it was discarded. Hoye featured three lions and a child. The chosen one was the feline inspired by his son Leo. Willie, the lion, conveyed the English spirit: he wore a shirt with the flag of that country and his haircut was identical to that of The Beatles.

Stuffed animals, doormats, cups, glasses, stickers, poles and an endless number of objects with his image were sold all over England. A song dedicated to the sporty lion was even written. This is how the tradition of having a World Cup mascot that cheers up the fans and generates millions in profits for advertisers was born.

The successful Willie was followed by other mascots, some more popular than others. During three consecutive World Cups, images of children were used. It all started in Mexico 70. ‘Juanito’ was an 11-year-old boy dressed in the uniform of the host country and a wide hat. The conceited ones of Germany 1974 were ‘Tip and Tap’, two 9-year-old boys, one dark and the other blond with heads in the shape of a sausage. The children represented the two Germanys.

Four years later the Argentines presented ‘Gauchito’. It was created by cartoonist Néstor Córdoba. The nice boy was a fan of the Puma brand. España 82 brought us ‘Naranjito’, a fruit that won little by little the preference of the fans. This cute green-eyed orange was chosen from 586 designs. Along with his girlfriend Clementina, he starred in the animated series “Football in Action”.

In México 86, the creatives turned their eyes towards the orchard and created ‘Pique’, a hot pepper with large mustaches. In the 90 World Cup, the Italians presented a kind of soccer player made of cubes called ‘Ciao’. This mascot was highly criticized, as it did not reflect Italian culture and history. The next mascot meant a respite from the failure of its predecessor. Los Angeles ’94 dog ‘Striker’ was created at Warner Bros.

At the gates of the new millennium, France introduced an anthropomorphic rooster called ‘Footix’. Fabrice Pialot’s studio was commissioned to bring it to life. His name was chosen in a survey of 18,500 French people who ruled out other names such as Raffy, Houpi, Gallik and Zimbo.

The pets of the new millennium did not start off on the right foot. In 2002 three aliens were chosen to be the image of the first World Cup held in Korea and Japan. ‘Ato, Kaz and Nik’ came to have a very tuned television series in the Asian continent. On the other side of the world they went unnoticed.

In 2006 the Germans presented ‘Goleo’, a lion born in Jim Henson’s studios. This mascot was a sales failure and two of the products associated with his image were denounced for being made with toxic materials.

South Africa 2010 was the world championship for Zakumi, a yellow leopard with a green mane. Its name is made up of the initials ZA (South Africa) and the word kumi (ten). The jovial leopard was born in 1994, the year democracy was established in that country. It was designed by Andries Odendaal.

‘Fuleco’, a three-banded armadillo, became the first mascot with a space on social networks. A vegetarian and a fan of Pelé, his name had a mixture of soccer and ecology. One million people chose a wolf as the mascot for Russia 2018. Zabivaka, whose name means little scorer, was the ambassador of the World Cup where the red-and-white participated.

This is how we arrived at Qatar 2022. For this world cup, an animal or fruit was not chosen; but a representative of the multiverse of pets. ‘La’eeb’, Arabic for ‘skilled player’, is a turban with a child’s face. His mission is to spread the joy of soccer throughout the world.