ZAKUMI OFFICAL FIFA WORLD CUP LEOPARD

Zakumi, the leopard is mascot for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and will be introduced to cities desiganted to host wordl Cup matches

The Mascot for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Zakumi, was unveiled in Johannesburg South Africa on Monday September 22.

As the face of the 2010 World Cup, Zakumi is expected to play a pivotal role in making the event a memorable experience. It is expected to depict to guests to the country the vibrant culture found on the African continent.

“The mascot is a Leopard. The word ‘Kumi’ is the Kiswahili word for the number ten. Kiswahili is probably the most widely spoken indigenous language on the continent. Therefore it has a broad appeal.

“Zakumi represents a call by South Africa to the people of the world to come to this continent and in particular South Africa and join in the festivities of the 2010 world Cup,” the 2010 World Cup Local Organising Committee Chief Executive Danny Jordaan explained. He revealed that the process of identify the mascot took 14 months.

Mascots have been a feature of the FIFA World Cup since 1966 when England adopted Willie the Lion. In 1970 in Mexico it was a boy, Juanito, while in Germany four years later it was two boys Tip and Tap. The Argentines used Gauchito , a footballer in 1978 while Spain adopted the Orange Narajito in 1982.

In 1986 Mexico introduce Pique,hot paper,  while the Italians used Ciao, a stick figure player in 1990. At the 1994 World Cup in the United States of America the mascot for the event was Striker the dog. The French adopted the Cockerel in 1998. The joint 2002 South Korea and Japan World Cup adopted Spheriks which depicts energy, while at the last world Cup, Germany used Goleo VI, a Lion.

“The challenge we faced was to find something fresh. Several editions of the Africa Cup of Nations tournaments have used the lion as their mascot just as Germany and England did. So we decided to give the lion a break this time round. We will start introducing Zakumi to communities in the designated hosts cities for the 2010 World Cup,” Jordaan explained.