No bogey: what it means for a defector, Qatar Cup mascot

The Qatar World Cup has already begun, and one of the highlights of the opening ceremony was the 20-meter-high, 16-meter-long image of Laeeb’s mascot, which was hoisted by columns inside Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, approximately 40 kilometers away. From Doha, the capital of Qatar.

Soon, memes involving “ghosts” appeared and some Brazilian fans compared him to Gasparzinho, the friendly ghost.

But attention: it’s not a ghost!

As usual, the World Cup mascots, which have been around since 1966, represent some of the traditional features of the host country. Laeeb, which means “super skilled player”, is a character inspired by the headgear worn by people in the Arab world.

It is a traditional garment known by three names: keffiyeh, shemagh, and ghutra, and it will be the fifteenth mascot defect in the history of the World Cup. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest figures in the Qatar 2022 World Cup. The message you are trying to get across is that everyone believes in themselves and that “Now is everything”.

Remember the other mascot

The opening ceremony was also attended by mascots from all the World Cup tournaments, such as Zabivaka, from the World Cup in Russia 2018, Fuleco, from the World Cup in Brazil, in 2014, and Zakumi, from the South African Cup, in 2010.

Willie (1966)

In the tradition of World Cup mascots, Willie brought in the lion, which is a very recognizable symbol for the United Kingdom. The English mascot bore a friendly expression and wore a football kit with the flag of England, accompanied by the words ’66 World Cup’, or ’66 Copa do Mundo’, in the translation into Portuguese.

Juanito Maravilla (1970)

It was the mascot of the 1970 World Cup, hosted by Mexico, that had the distinction of being the first televised version of the event. This guarantees Juanito a captive place in the crowd. He was a little boy in the colors of the Mexican national team uniform and also wearing a typical Mexican cultural accessory: the sombrero, the country’s traditional hat. On it, one could read “Mexico 70”.

Tip and Tap (1974)

In the 1974 edition, based in Germany, the audience is introduced to two mascots: Tipp and Tap, which represent the country’s history – at that time it was still divided into East Germany and West Germany. Even with the division, the two countries participated together in the tournament, and to prove this unity, they created Tipp and Taptip, two smiling little kids dressed in the German national team uniform.

Gauchito (1978)

Gauchito may even sound like the name of Brazil’s mascot, but in reality it was a symbol of the 1978 World Cup that Argentina hosted. The name actually refers to the term “gaúcho” and is also related to the Brazilian gaucho, representing the men who worked the fields in Latin America. Gauchito, the Argentine mascot, wore typical clothing, including a scarf tied around his neck, a hat and even a scythe, as well as a ball and a uniform in the colors of the Argentine national team.

Naranjito (1982)

A diminutive of “naranja,” which means orange in Spanish, the 1982 mascot was a very friendly orange, who wore uniforms with the colors of the Spanish national team. In addition to the uniform, Naranjito was accompanied by a soccer ball.

Chop (1986)

In 1986, we had another World Cup in Mexico and the country repeated the representation of the culture through its sombrero mascot Pique. This time, the one wearing the sombrero was the jalapeño, a type of pepper widely used in Mexican cuisine. Pique’s name is short for spicy. The mascot’s entire appearance was designed in the colors of the country’s flag: Pique was green, with a red and white uniform.

Chow (1990)

Going against the norm, Ciao was the mascot of the 1990 World Cup, which Italy hosted, and he wasn’t as cute as the others. The name is a reference to the Italian term meaning “hello” and “goodbye”. At the time, Italy introduced a modern design, featuring a mascot with a football head and a body made of Legos-like pieces in green, red, and white, to represent the country’s flag.

Striker (1994)

The 1994 edition, in the US, had Striker as its mascot – a name that means “gunner” in Portuguese. It was a little dog dressed in a uniform in the colors of the flag and with “USA 94” written across its chest.

Footix (1998)

One of the most famous mascots of the World Cup, Photix represented France and is a combination of soccer and Asterix, a popular character in the world of comics. It was a rooster with a blue body and a red head and tail, accompanied by a soccer ball in the colors of the French flag. It was a great success France created, in 2019, Ettie, daughter of Footix and mascot of the Women’s World Cup.

Kaz, Oto and Nick (2002)

Kaz, Ato and Nick were aliens, developed by South Korea and Japan, the countries responsible for hosting the competition 20 years ago. The mascot was intended to represent the countries technology and featured the colors yellow, purple and blue.

Julio VI (2006)

Unlike previous mascots, Germany brought a stately figure to represent the World Cup edition the country hosted in 2006. Julio was a lion, always accompanied by Bale, the talking ball. The mascot’s name is a combination of the words gol and “leo,” which means lion in Latin. Pille is a German term used informally to refer to football.

Zakumi (2010)

He was the mascot of the 2010 World Cup hosted by South Africa in 2010. It is a tiger with green hair and a yellow body, two colors that represent the African national team’s uniform. The name is a combination of two terms from one of the local languages: “za”, meaning South African, and “kumi”, meaning 10, representing the year of the sporting event.

Fuleco (2014)

He represented the armadillos of Brazil at the 2014 World Cup. The character was elected by popular vote and recalls an animal typical of our fauna, which unfortunately is endangered. The name of the Brazilian mascot, which is blue, green and yellow like the flag, originates from a combination of the words football and environment.

Zabivaca (2018)

It represents the version of the event held in Russia in 2018. The name comes from a Russian term meaning “one who scores a goal” and the mascot was a gray wolf, an important species of endangered predator in the country. In a blue and white uniform, in the colors of the Russian flag, the little wolf is still wearing elegant glasses and a very happy expression.