Aradillo
FIFA and the Brazil World Cup Organizing Committee announced the mascot of the 2014 Brazil World Cup - an armadillo. The armadillo (pronounced: qiú yú), also known as the "armored rat", is an endangered species living in the interior of Brazil. When it feels an external threat, the armadillo will shrink into a circle and use its carapace to protect itself. The shape is similar to a football. The designers cartoonized the image of the armadillo to abstract the mascot of the Brazilian World Cup and named it "Fulai Ge". This armadillo has a blue carapace on its head, blue back and tail, and yellow face and limbs. It is wearing a white T-shirt with the words "Brazil 2014" and a pair of greige shorts, which is reminiscent of the Color combinations of the Brazilian flag.
After the mascot was decided, the next step was to give the cute armadillo a name. There are three candidates for the mascot name this time. The first is "Amijubi", which is a combination of "friendship" and "joy", symbolizing the characteristics of the Brazilian people of the host country; the second is "Fuleco", which is a combination of "football" and "ecology". Combination, injecting environmental protection concepts into football; the third is "Zuzeco", which is a combination of "blue" and "ecology", a fusion of the colors of the sky and ocean and environmental protection concepts.
After three months of voting, FIFA announced the results. "Fuleco" received as much as 48% of the votes, beating the other two names and becoming the final name of the mascot of the Brazil World Cup. About 1.7 million people chose this name. "Zuzeco" received 31% of the votes and "Amijubi" 21%.