Tomorrow is the opening ceremony of the world cup, so what do you know about the world cup? What do you know about the mascot of the 2018 Russia world cup? What is the symbolic meaning of the wolf zabiwaka?
FIFA announced Friday that the mascot of the 2018 Russia world cup, named 'zabiwaka', was elected with 53% of the votes. Ronaldo, who attended the mascot unveiling ceremony, said: 'I believe that fans around the world will remember zabiwaka for a long time. '
FIFA's official website and Russian TV 1 conducted a month long mascot voting activity at the same time. Three mascots based on wolf, Amur tiger and cat became candidates, with more than one million fans participating in the voting. As of the voting, zabiwaka ranked first with 53% of the voting rate, while Amur tiger and cat voted 27% and 20% respectively.
On the spot, FIFA introduced the characteristics of 'zabiwaka': 'maybe zabiwaka is the youngest player in the team, but you can't find a faster, braver and smarter player. His talent always helps the team win. He is charming, confident, cheerful and has always dreamed of becoming a football star. His favorite thing is to play football. He has great sportsmanship, respects his teammates and opponents, and has excellent technology and efficiency. He always has a sense of humor and he knows how to make his teammates laugh all the time. He always wears sports glasses when playing football, because he thinks it's cool to do so, and it can help him aim at the goal better. By the way, he also likes posing for photos. '
FIFA Secretary General Samura said: 'in order to vote, we first learned what Russian teenagers like through online survey. Based on these ideas, college designers submitted their designs. Now, all of them choose one of their favorite mascots. After the 18 month project, we are very happy that the mascot of the 2018 World Cup is the result of the team's efforts, and the Russian people have shown their highly talented creativity and strong support for this world cup. '
Mutko, chairman of the Organizing Committee of the world cup, said: 'I believe that zabiwaka will be popular with fans in the Confederations Cup in 2017 and the world cup in 2018. However, his role is far from being welcomed by fans. The mascot's task is to encourage the fans, let more people participate in the football, let them come to the stadium to experience the unforgettable experience. Millions of Russian fans took part in the vote, which means zabiwaka will take on the task of transferring Russian culture to all parts of the world. '