Get to know Zakumi

Here’s all that you wanted to know about the world cup mascot — the cute green-haired leopard. The cute green-haired leopard symbolises South Africa and the rest of the African continent through his self-confidence, pride, hospitality, social skills and warm-heartedness. He loves to play football as it is a great way to connect with others and break down language barriers. He always carries his football around which he will use to invite people to play with him.

At one time he decided to dye his hair green as he felt it would be the perfect camouflage against the green of the football pitch; a bit like his rosette spots are when hunting in the wilderness! The name ‘Zakumi’ is a composition of ‘ZA’ standing for South Africa and ‘kumi’, which translates into ‘10’ in various languages across Africa.

The green and yellow (gold) colours match the colours used in most South African sport uniforms. The creator of the design is Andries Odendaal from Cape Town. The Mascot costume was produced by Cora Simpson of Cora’s Costumes. Zakumi was conceived on the 16th of June, 1994, the year of South Africa’s democracy.

The day also coincides with Youth Day in South Africa. Zakumi is full of personality. Fifa have described him as lively, outgoing, adventurous and spontaneous. Zakumi’s official motto is “Zakumi’s game is fair play”. The main priority of this cute mascot is to make the 2010 Fifa World Cup a “huge, joyful and unforgettable party...”