A CARTOON ARMADILLO chosen as the official mascot for the 2014 football World Cup in Brazil is to be called Fuleco, FIFA announced today.
The name — a combination of the Portuguese words for football (futebol) and ecology (ecologia) — came out top with more than 48 percent of the 1.7 million Brazilians who voted in a poll.
Other options were Zuzeco (31 percent) and Amijubi (21 percent), FIFA said on its website.
The three-banded armadillo, which is indigenous to Brazil and known as the “tatu-bola”, is an endangered species. Its cartoon likeness wears a white “Brazil 2014″ t-shirt and green shorts, and has its own song and website: mascot.fifa.com.
One of the tournament’s main aims is to raise awareness about the environment and ecology. Fuleco was chosen after organisers analysed 47 different designs from six different Brazilian agencies and researched how they were received by the main target audience of children aged five to 12.
World Cup mascots of previous tournaments include a cuddly lion, World Cup Willie, for the 1966 edition in England, Zakumi the leopard for South Africa 2010 and Naranjito the cartoon orange for Spain 1982.
