LIONS AND WOLVES, AND ‘CRAZY’ BALLS
We take a brief look at the various mascots, balls and anthems of the various FIFA World Cups since 1930.
Although the FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930, it got its first mascot only for England 1966. Named ‘Willie’, the mascot was a Lion — a common English motif — wearing a Union-jack-themed T-shirt. Designed by freelance artist Reg Hoye Willie, it paved the way for mascots to become an integral part of the tournament and still lives on as an iconic moment in the history of the World Cup.
In Mexico 1970, ‘Juanito’, the mascot, was a Mexican boy with a sombrero in the host colours. West Germany 1974 retained the same formula but had two kids – Tip and Tap – as its mascot. While one kid had Weltmeisterschaft (German for World Cup) emblazoned on its shirt, the other had the number 74.
The theme of a young boy as the mascot persisted in Argentina in 1978. Named Gauchito, the mascot adorned a yellow kerchief and a whip, much like the skilled horsemen of the South American country.
Spain broke the trend and introduced a fruit as a mascot when it hosted the 1982 edition of the World Cup. Christened Naranjito (Spanish for Orange), the mascot donned the Spanish jersey with a wide grin.
Mexico in 1986 took it one step further by introducing a vegetable into the fray. This time the inspiration was Jalapeno Pepper, an integral part of Mexican cuisine. The mascot was named ‘Pique’, which is derived from Picante (Spanish for spicy). The Sombrero of ‘Juanito’ made a reappearance with ‘Pique’.
As the World Cup reached the shores of Italy in 1990, it was welcomed by a unique mascot — Ciao, a surprisingly flexible stick figure with a football head and a body built with Italian tricolour blocks.
USA 1994 returned to simpler roots for its mascot and chose a friendly dog as its totem. Titled ‘Striker’, the mascot wore the colours of the USA national team with a smile as wide as the country.
The French chose to adopt one of its national symbols — the Cockrel — as the mascot for the 1998 World Cup. Mixing football and -ix (a common suffix of Gaul names), it was named ‘Footix’ and had ‘FRANCE 98’ written on its chest.
The first World Cup of this century, hosted by Japan and South Korea, was also the first to have three figures as mascots. Given the names of Ato, Kaz and Niks from public voting, the trio were computer-generated figures which displayed the arrival of the new age.
Germany 2006 saw the return of a lion as the World Cup mascot. Named ‘Goleo VI’ (an amalgamation of Goal and Leo), it had a sidekick called ‘Pille’, a talking football.
Inspired by leopards, a common feature in South Africa, ‘Zakumi’ was the mascot for the 2010 World Cup. The ‘ZA’ in its name stood for South Africa, while ‘Kumi’ meant 10 in various African languages. Zakumi also sported green and gold colours, an ode to the sports kits of the African nation.
To highlight the biodiversity of the country, the mascot of Brazil 2014 was named ‘Fuleco’ – a mixture of football and ecology. The totem was inspired by the Brazilian three-branded armadillo, an endangered species, and carried the colours of Brazil’s flag.
The trend of animals symbolising the World Cup continued into Russia 201■. This time, the mascot was based on a wolf and was named ‘Zabivaka’. The design of the mascot was finalised after a worldwide, internet-based public voting.
Coming into Qatar 2022, for the first time in tournament history, a piece of clothing has become the creative foundation for the mascot. Named ‘La’eeb’, it is inspired by the keffiyeh, a traditional headdress worn by Arab men. ‘La’eeb’ in Arabic translates to ‘super-skilled player’, in anticipation of the hundreds of footballers about to land in the country.
FIFA WORLD CUP BALLS
Every four years, fans are excited to see the design — structural and visual — of the official World Cup ball. It has also been a source of controversy ever since the firstever World Cup final in 1930.
In 1930, neither finalist could agree on which ball to use. Argentina claimed the ball offered by host Uruguay was larger. It was decided that a ball provided by Argentina would be used in the first half and the one provided by Uruguayans will be used in the second half. Interestingly, Argentina led the game 2-1 at half-time, before the ball changed and Uruguay outscored its neighbour 3-0 — with its ball (named T-model) — in the final half to win the first-ever World Cup.
The 12-panel design of the World Cup balls continued until 1954 when an innovative 18-layer ball named the ‘Swiss World Champion’ was introduced for the Swiss World Cup. The quality of the balls used varied through the next World Cups, with the ones used in Chile in 1962 (named Crack) receiving the most criticism, particularly for how fast they disintegrated.
England 1966 saw Slazenger being selected as the official ball manufacturer after a blind test at the Football Association headquarters in London. It designed and provided a 24-panel ball named ‘Challenge 4-star’.
Mexico 1970 marked the beginning of
the Adidas era with the iconic ‘Telstar’, which has created a unique space for itself in the history of World Cup balls. Named after the Telstar satellite launched in 1962 by the USA, this was the first-ever 32-panelled ball used in the World Cup.
The Buckminster design persisted in 1974, but the ‘Telstar-durlast’ introduced polyurethane coating that made the ball water resistant.
Argentina 1978 saw the introduction of a base design – interconnected triangles with curved edges – that continued until 1998. Named ‘Tango’, this was also the first ball to feature the Adidas trademark.
Mexico 1986 saw the genesis of the fully synthetic match balls through ‘Azteca’ that incorporated Aztec murals in its base design to give it a rooted feel. ‘Etrusca’ of Italy 1990 had the Etruscan lion in it, while the ‘Questra’ of USA 1994 had stars emblazoned on it to symbolise America’s quest for greatness. The first-ever multicoloured World Cup ball was introduced in France 1998, with red, blue and white representing the French flag and was aptly named ‘Tricolore.’
‘Fevernova’ of the 2002 World Cup ushered in a new era with a triangular design that departed from the ‘Tango’ layout. Attackers were in awe of the accuracy provided, while goalkeepers like Gianluigi Buffon criticised the ball for its ‘crazy bouncing.’
Germany 2006 marked a new beginning as Adidas produced two ball designs — one specifically for the World Cup final. With 14 external panels, Teamgeist (meaning team spirit in German) was smoother and provided better ball control. ‘Teamgeist Berlin’, used for the Final, had golden panels to highlight the occasion.
‘Jabulani’ of South Africa 2010 turned out to be one of the most controversial World Cup match balls. The eight-panelled ball with internal stitching was unpredictable in flight due to its excessive smoothness and was panned by players, particularly the goalkeepers.
Adidas produced a less contentious but a highly-innovative ball for Brazil 2014 — the ‘Brazuca’. The first of such to be named after public voting, Brazuca had just six layers which were seamed together in a swirling fashion. The pattern on the ball was multicoloured ribbons, inspired by Brazilian wish bands.
Russia 2018 was a return to the roots for Adidas with ‘Telstar 18’, a reinvented version of its 1970 creation, whose structural design remained similar to the ‘Brazuca’. The tournament’s knockout phase used a different ball, with a red theme, named ‘Telstar Mechta’ (Mechta meant dream or ambition in Russian).
For the upcoming Qatar World Cup, Adidas revealed the official match ball named ‘Al Rihla’ (the journey in Arabic) on March 2022. The colours and patterns of ‘Al Rihla’ is an ode to Qatar’s culture, flag and architecture. Claimed to be the fastest World Cup ball ever designed, ‘Al Rihla’ has 20 layers held together by water-based glues and inks
and is said to have enhanced aerodynamics, enabling better swerve and accuracy for shooters.
FIFA WORLD CUP ANTHEMS AND SONGS
Music has been a constant feature in football, particularly among fans, who used songs and chants to express themselves. But it was only in 1962 that World Cup organisers began to recognise this and have an official theme song or an anthem or both.
The history of official World Cup songs began in Chile 1962 when a number by Los Ramblers, a Chile-based band, titled El Rock del Mundial, was declared the official song of the World Cup. The song was more of a cheer anthem for Chile’s national team and failed to carry a global appeal.
Over the next few World Cups, too, host nations deployed songs that were rooted in local appeal, a far cry from the attempts to go global these days. Things changed when Italian music legend Ennio Morricone was roped in to compose the official song for the 1978 World Cup hosted by Argentina. He produced a lyric-less piece, called El Mundial, along with Buenos Aires Philharmonic, which is still considered by many to be one of the best World Cup songs.
Spain 1982 followed the blueprint by bringing in Spanish conductor Plácido Domingo, who created Mundial’82, an energetic, bouncy piece steeped in Spanish culture.
Cut to 1994 and it was time for Gloryland by Daryl Hall and Sounds of Blackness. The song was an unabashed advertisement of the nationalist pride of the host, the USA.
In France 1998, the official anthem — La Cour des Grands (Do You Mind If I Play) by Youssou N'dour and Axelle Red, was forgotten by most, while the official song lasted the test of time. La Copa de la Vida or The Cup of Life by Ricky Martin continues to be loved intensely by fans to date for its uplifting feel.
South Africa 2010 was blessed with two great songs — Wavin' Flag, performed by K'naan, as the Official Anthem and Waka Waka, by Shakira and featuring Freshlyground, as the official song. These two combined to raise the profile of the World Cup songs and made it an eagerly awaited feature of the tournament.
While Carlos Santana, Wyclef, Avicii, and Alexandre Pires collaborated to produce the official anthem titled Dar um Jeito (We Will Find a Way) for the Brazil World Cup in 2014, it was the official song We Are One (Ole Ola) by Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte that became a rage across the globe.
Russia 2018’s official song Live It Up was created by Nicky Jam, Will Smith and Era Istrefi and carried the energy of what turned out to be an exciting tournament.
For Qatar 2022, the official song, titled Hayya Hayya (Better Together) was launched in April 2022. The song was a product of the creative collaboration of Trinidad Cardona, Davido and Aisha. “By bringing together voices from the Americas, Africa and the Middle East, this song symbolises how music – and football – can unite the world,” said FIFA Chief Commercial Officer Kay Madati during the launch of the song.
According to the FIFA website, the song draws on R&B and reggae influences, and symbolises the excitement of a football festival waiting to happen in Qatar.