With 32 teams vying for the Holy Grail, the stadiums in Russia are set to host the FIFA World Cup 2018, June 14. With 12 matches that includes the opening and the final on July 15, Moscow leads the host venues; Luzhniki Stadium will unveil the 21st quadrennial international football tournament. Apart from the teams, the World Cup Mascot equally holds the importance in FIFA 2018. This year, the Russian public had chosen the showpiece; the wolf is named as Zabivaka which in Russia means “the one who scores”. The charming wolf or the worldwide ‘celebrity’ has been designed by student Ekaterina Bocharova and reportedly the mascot received 53 percent votes online.

FIFA unveiled the mascot during a live television show in front of the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Vitaly Mutko and former Brazil striker Ronaldo. They described it as “a wolf who radiates fun, charm and confidence.” The golden wolf is wearing a white and blue T-shirt emblazoned with the words “RUSSIA 2018” and red shorts, colours of the Russian football team slaying with a cool orange shade. Since its inception, the Mascot plays a very important role FIFA World Cup tournament. In 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia too, the golden wolf will not only promote the event and entertain the spectators at the stadiums but will become an ambassador of the hosted country.

Zabivaka was named only after the month long engaging process to vote online to select an official mascot in the history of FIFA World Cup. It has been revealed that over one million votes were cast on FIFA.com through a live show on Russia’s Channel One where the result of the competition was announced. The 21st edition will be played in 12 stadiums, across 11 cities which is spread over 1,800 miles.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 14, 2018 05:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).