As with the Olympics and other major events, the FIFA World Cup has mascots. Promotions of the event usually feature the mascots. Through the years, mascots have resembled humans, animals, flags, and creatures from science fiction—all designed to boost in the national team and spread the message of international competition and peace to the world.

The World Cup began in 1930, but the first mascots didn't appear until 1966. They have been a staple of events ever since.

Below is a snapshot of each set of mascots.

Year	Host nation(s)	Mascots
1966	England	World Cup Willie, a lion in a jersey featuring the Union Jack, the UK flag
1970	Mexico	Juanito, a Mexico boy decked out in a football jersey and a sombrero
1974	West Germany	Brothers Tip and Tap, wearing the jersey of West Germany's team
1978	Argentina	Gauchito, a youth wearing traditional clothing of the host country
1982	Spain	Naranjito, signifying the orange, a signature fruit of the host nation. This Spanish-jersey-outfitted character enjoyed great popularity, including his own animated TV show.
1986	Mexico	Pique, a jalapeñno pepper sporting a mustache and a sombrero.
1990	Italy	Ciao, a football-headed geometric stick figure sporting the colors of the Italian flag.
1994	United States	Striker, a cartoon dog wearing a USA jersey.
1998	France	Footix, a blue rooster wearing a shirt promoting the host nation and the year of competition
2002	Japan and South Korea	Ato, Kaz, and Nik, from the fictional sport of Atmoball
2006	Germany	Goleo VI and Pille, the former a lion and the latter his talking friend–both wearing Germany jerseys
2010	England	Zakumi, a green-haired leopard whose name combines ZA (South Africa) and Kumithe number 10 in a handful of African languages
2014	Brazil	Fuleco, a native Brazilian armadillo whose name combines futbol and ecologia, to add a focus on environmental awareness
2018	Russia	Zabivaka, a wolf sporting ski goggles and whose name means in Russian is "the one who scores"
2022	Qatar	La'eeb, a figure who takes inspiration from traditional Qatari headwear
2026	Canada, Mexico, and the United States	Maple the Moose, Zayu the Jaguar, and Clutch the Bald Eagle–representing the host nations in alphabetical order