FIFA World Cup official mascots are a series of unique characters for each event. The trend began with the 1966 FIFA World Cup having World Cup Willie, one of the first mascots to be associated with a major sporting competition. The mascot designs represent a characteristic of the host country, such as flora, fauna, or costume. The design is frequently one or more anthropomorphic characters targeted at children and coinciding with cartoon shows and merchandise. List of mascots See also List of FIFA Women's World Cup official mascots List of UEFA European Championship official mascots List of Copa América official mascots List of Africa Cup of Nations official mascots List of AFC Asian Cup official mascots References External links Information on Goleo VI and Pille Official FIFA web page on Zakumi Association football mascots Lists of mascots